War of the Eyes
by Neo-Lifethane
Summary: The sequel to Lacking Sight. A full summary is included in the prologue chapter. NaruxHina, OCxOC.
1. Prologue: Blind Man's Narrative

_**War of the Eyes**_

_A Naruto Fanfiction_

_by the one and only Lifethane_

**A/N:** Hello, everyone. For those of you who don't know me, I am Dustin, better known on by my pen name, Lifethane. It is my pleasure to greet you and bring to you this expression of creativity that crawls around in my head. For those of you who know and love me, welcome back.

This is the sequel to my first and well-reviewed story, _Lacking Sight, _whichI named complete less than forty-eight hours ago. If you're new to me, get used to at least weekly and often bi-weekly updates, because that's how I like to do it: fast and fantastic. Each and every chapter of the series named by one of my precious reviewers as the "Vision Saga" is literally engineered to be absorbed into your eager brains at the speed of maximum enjoyment.

Any questions may be directed to me by way of email or asked of me directly by way of Windows or MSN messenger (use same email).

Have fun with my new stuff!

**Summary:**

The next Great Shinobi War has begun. The Leaf has been damaged, but they are still combat-capable and their defenses are far from crumbling. Allied with the Sand, they stand firm against the combined forces of the Rock and the Sound. However, the early warning signs of other powers entering the fray have already begun to show, and the border lands are crawling with enemies.

It is into this contested wilderness that eight shinobi venture forth. Their purpose is double: Obtain information about Orochimaru, the sinister master ninja who initiated the war, and rescue Keisuke, shinobi of the Leaf and friend to Uzumaki Naruto. The journey will lead them through mountains, valleys, and forests fraught with peril to their final destination—the wasteland known as the Grave, at the heart of which lie the ruins of Keisuke's birthplace.

Throughout the trek, Naruto's mind must juggle many conflicts. Among them are the complications of the Caged Bird seal and its effect on his tenant, Kyuubi, the trustworthiness of his former-teammate-now-prisoner, Uchiha Sasuke, the whereabouts of his former mentor, Jiraiya, and the truth about his own feelings for Hyuuga Hinata, whose recent confession has made of his heart a conundrum. Though he keeps his many questions to himself and trains himself intensely in preparation for the coming conflict, he cannot help but feel that their weight will slowly crush him if he does not find the answers.

And all the time, he cannot shake off the feeling that he is being constantly watched by multiple deadly powers...

**Dramatis Personae:**

(Note: Characters marked with ((double parenthesis)) are my creations. All other characters, as well as the world in which this story takes place, belong to Masashi Kishimoto, their creator and my current rival.)

Uzumaki Naruto: Hardly changed from the loud and obnoxious youth that Konoha hated three years ago, the blue-eyed blond demon vessel still loves to have fun while at the same time strives to become the best shinobi of his village. Recent events, however, have turned his mind into a cesspool of arguments. Though he manages to keep this inner turmoil buried, it nonetheless weighs heavily on him. He and his friends are embarking on a dangerous journey through war-torn lands to the wasteland called the Grave, where his close friend, Keisuke, is supposedly being held hostage.

((Hyuuga Haruka)) : Nicknamed the "Sadist" by her partner, Keisuke, Haruka is a black sheep among the Hyuuga Clan. Her forceful personality and excessive love of battle has caused Keisuke to ridicule her endlessly—though playfully—throughout their partnership, and she is quick to return the favor. Unfortunately, shortly following new developments in their love-hate relationship, Keisuke has been captured and taken to the stronghold of Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin. Haruka follows with Naruto and company for the purpose of rescuing him.

Hyuuga Hinata: The shy heiress to the rulership of the Hyuuga Clan, who for years has had a colossal crush on Naruto. Much of her life has been spent in self-loathing sorrow, but, inspired by her headstrong and courageous crush, she has spent the last three years of her life training herself relentlessly and has now improved almost beyond recognition. Though she is still very shy and becomes red-faced when speaking of it, her affections for Naruto are no longer a secret from him. Naruto has yet to fully return this love, but she is patient, and will happily wait until the conflict within him resolves. For now, it is enough that he knows her feelings. Yet, some part of his behavior worries her...

Hyuuga Neji: The official leader of the mission to the Grave. He is tall, dark, and handsome, and has been hailed as a genius within the Clan even though he is not of the Main Family. A master of the Hyuuga Jyuuken style and a cunning analyst, Neji also considers himself to be his cousin Hinata's protector and bodyguard, despite the recent blasting apart of the Main and Branch Family distinctions. He reveres Naruto, having once been known to say that the blond has "better eyes than me." He approves advancement of Naruto and Hinata's relationship... as long as they keep it discreet and do not cross any "boundaries" before marriage.

Haruno Sakura: Part of Naruto's original Genin team, she has a powerful drive to improve herself and become the best Medical Ninja since the great Tsunade-sama herself. She once harbored an almost fanatical love for Uchiha Sasuke, but in light of his more recent actions, she has apparently gotten over him, even striking him once—an event that dropped the jaws of all those present. It is unclear if the two will ever reconcile their differences. For the present, she helps out the team on their mission and supports Naruto and Hinata's growing relationship with friendly enthusiasm.

Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Akamaru: These two are good friends of each other and Hinata, all three having been part of the same Genin team. Shino is the prodigy of the Aburame, a clan of shinobi who fight by allying themselves with a dangerous species of insect known as Destruction Bugs, or Kikaichuu. He is quiet and reserved, speaking only when it benefits the team or the mission, but underneath his heavy cloaked jacket beats the heart of a true friend. Kiba and his faithful dog Akamaru are ferocious fighters and stalwart comrades. With their Beast-Effect ninjutsu, they defend their friends with feral determination.

Uchiha Sasuke: The only survivor of his clan's tragic destruction—which was perpetrated by his own brother, Itachi—his lust for revenge drove him to seek power by any means necessary. Forsaking his friends, who he believed were weighing him down with their love, he betrayed the Leaf and ran to join Orochimaru. After three years of training in dark powers unheard of in many generations, Sasuke returned to Konoha with an invasion force, bent on testing his new powers against Naruto, his old rival. However, he was soundly defeated by Naruto and his unexpected ally, Hinata.

Sasuke has bargained for his life by feeding the Leaf information and offering to guide the mission to Orochimaru's hideout in the Grave. It is unclear whether or not he truly intends to carry out his end of the bargain, but the Hokage has decided to trust him for the moment. Under the watchful eyes of Naruto and Neji, he broods within his own dark mind as he guides the travelers onward.

((Keisuke)) : Possessing no eyes, Keisuke is, ironically, the father of the first Hyuuga. He was entrapped in a frozen tomb by a torturous demoness many generations past and released eight years ago. In place of his missing eyes, he utilizes a unique and versatile ability, the Sixty-Four Ghostly Arms or Rokujuuyon Reiude, which he obtained after being found half dead by the seven-year-old Naruto and receiving a blood transfusion from him. It was discovered upon their reunion two years ago that Naruto also has this ability, and the two of them have acted as surrogate family to each other ever since. He is currently the captive of the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru, who wants to take his unique powers for himself.

Jiraiya: The perverted and illustrious Toad Sannin, with shinobi abilities comparable to those of Orochimaru. He was last seen by Naruto fighting one of the criminal members of "Akatsuki," who want to take the power of the demon within Naruto and use it to suit their own unknown purposes. Jiraiya's current location and status are unknown.

((Hyuuga Hiroto)) : The former Captain of the elite guard assigned to protect the head of the Hyuuga Clan, Hiashi. He disappeared at the same time that Keisuke did, and it is not known where he currently is. Hiroto has anger management problems, and his painful past has led him to despise all of his Clansmen.

**War of the Eyes**

**Prologue: Blind Man's Narrative**

I was more than a little surprised when they came to me to write this. _Me_, of all people. Can you believe that?

Oh, sure, they asked Naruto first, and as glad as the kid was to relate the whole story with that over-eager mouth of his, you know how he gets when talking about his own adventures, or anything at all about himself; you get a much more glossed-over and abbreviated version of events, and there's absolutely no way that he can be persuaded to take the time to sit down at a keyboard and write it all out. He would either fall asleep or find some excuse to leave and go back to training, ramen, or Hinata-chan. Don't get me wrong; I love the kid, but he's useless for this sort of thing.

You would think they would have then asked someone else who'd been a major part of the action.

Hinata-chan would have been an ideal candidate. She has plenty of time between missions. Hell, she can spend time with Naruto while writing, can't she? And next to Naruto, she was closest to all of the important things going on. But no... the girl has her clan and Naruto to make excuses for her, so she's exempt.

Neji would be a waste of time to ask. When he isn't performing his duties as a Lieutenant in the new Elite Guard, he's watching Naruto and Hinata like a hawk, making sure nobody interrupts them but interrupting them himself if he suspects something "inappropriate for this stage" is going on. He's a no.

Sakura-san? You'd think she would, but her excuse is the Jounin examinations that are coming up. I wish her luck, but it would have been nice if she could have just played along and let me rest in peace.

Kiba-san is similar to Naruto in attentiveness to this kind of task. No can do.

Shino-san would likely be as brief and practical on paper as he is in speech.

And Haruka? What chance in hell do I have of convincing her to pick up my slack? That's right—zero.

But when it became clear that Naruto wasn't suited for the task, I was the one they came to next. As I said, this surprised me, because on top of being blinder than a bat, I was the one who played the smallest role for most of the debacle. _Don't worry about that,_ they told me. _You have plenty of sources to fill in the blanks, and there are eyes you can borrow if you need to._ This was true, and since I'm going to be confined to my home and bed for a while, I might as well do something for the information-hungry press, ne?

Ah, pardon me... I didn't introduce myself. I've become terribly bad at remembering the social graces these days; with all that we've been through, I'm surprised that Naruto and I aren't completely off our rockers. Not a problem... I'll remedy my mistake now.

I have had quite a few names in my unnaturally extended life. To the Hyuuga, I am the Great Father, sire of the very first user of the Byakugan. Across the world, I have been called Keisuke of the Grave, though few understood the meaning of the title. Naruto continues to address me as Keisuke nii-chan, though I have never been related to him except perhaps in spirit. I have also been called a Blind Idiot and several variations of the same.

However, none of these names—not even the last one, which I will admit to having become inexplicably fond of—has any meaning for me anymore, and they are almost never used since I was brought back. I answer to the name Keisuke and one other name now, but only these two. You'll understand why in good time.

I am a Jounin-level shinobi loyal to the Leaf and its Hokage. I proudly wear the green vest and weapons pouch over black tee-shirts and tough black pants. The Leaf hitai-ate headband is tied securely to my forehead. A few weeks—or centuries, if you ask me what it felt like—I also wore dark sunglasses over the empty sockets meant for eyes. I don't wear them anymore, however; they're a relic of the days when I fooled myself into believing that I lived for my past. When people look at my face now, they see not emptiness where those lenses used to be, but the manifestation of my new and true self—the self that lives for the present and the future, and for the young shinobi that boldly walk forward into it alongside me.

I am one of the two keepers of the fledgling Kekkai Genkai jutsu, the Rokujuuyon Reiude (Sixty-Four Ghostly Arms). They sprout forth out of my tenketsus, the opening points in my chakra circulatory system, and they are composed of invisible strands of chakra vessels. These Arms have a number of uses; they can be used as long feelers, and this sixth sense serves in place of my eyes. They can also be formed into written seals, calling the power of the elements to do their master's bidding. Naruto keeps discovering more and more uses for them every day. The most immense benefit, however, is the ability of the Reiude user to synchronize the chakra systems of himself and other people, pooling their chakra reserves and also their senses. It is in this way that I can gain the boon of vision, if only temporarily.

Not so long ago, I was the sole owner and master of this wonderfully versatile technique. I am not ashamed to say that this is no longer true; Naruto is far stronger than me, in the Reiude and as a shinobi in general. I don't hold a grudge for this. The kid earned everything that he has.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. For good or ill, I've been given the task of telling you this story. It's a story about action and adventure, trust, distrust, and betrayal, love and hate, of war and the heroes who won it. I will tell you about eight shinobi who left the village of the Leaf to rescue a comrade and defeat great evils. I'll draw a picture with words of the lands ravaged by massive and bloody conflict, and then I'll paint a new one of those same lands liberated in glorious victory. I will tell you of the doom of one great shinobi clan and the birth of another.

It's the story of how the three great eyes of the world witnessed the making of a legend that will be whispered of for many generations to come.

It won't be the easiest story in the world to tell. A lot of it will have to be pieced together from the different personal accounts given to me by the various characters in the tale itself, and there will be parts that prove almost impossible to fully describe in the limited capacity of language. It's regretful, but that's the way of things with this generation of ninjas; they're too amazing for words.

Regardless, I'll do the best that I can. Better that the world at least knows something of it than nothing at all. Those that came back with me will cooperate, lending me the eyes and the perspectives necessary to bring it all together. I have every confidence that by the time I fully heal, I'll have a complete and wondrous tale for you.

Ack, I have to put the keyboard down now—Florence Satangale just walked into the room, and I have to succumb to the horrors of the sponge bath. Let's just hope she doesn't find out that I just wrote that. Anyway, I'll endure my punishment and then get to writing; it's a long tale, and I'll take a long time to tell it.

Ja ne!

EDIT: Florence Satangale did indeed find out that I called her that. Damn those sharp eyes of hers! As a result I now have a new bruise, and am required to acknowledge that I am a complete fool and a Halloween movie reject if I am to keep the original document as it is.

OoOoOoOo End Prologue oOoOoOoO

**A/N: **And there you have it! Shorter than the prologue for Lacking Sight by a long shot, but it shouldn't be long before we're back up to normal chapter length.

Soooo... Thoughts, questions, ideas? A good author needs plenty of feedback, and I haven't gotten the entire plot for this story down quite yet. It will be a slow start until I figure out exactly where to go with this, so the more thoughts you provide me with, the quicker the story will move and the better it will be when it gets moving.

Until chapter one, I sit in my chair, do physics homework, and wait for your reviews.

Sayonara!


	2. C1: Not Quite in Synch

**A/N: **Thank you sincerely for the prologue reviews, you guys. Feel free to continue to provide support in any way you see fit. Someday I'll find a way to put URLs in here, so that I can link you to all the cool things other readers have done for me. :)

I want to once again thank Trenchcoatgirl-Kyo, Dragon Man 180, and Dragon Noir for faithful reviews since almost the very beginning of Lacking Sight. Thanks also to Gabzillaz for wicked fan art of Haruka and Keisuke and the Naruto/Sasuke fight. Your devotion pleases me, priestess. ;)

One more thank you, for alerting me to the fact that Fanfiction Dot Net does not support asterisks (damn them). For all of you who pointed that out(among them Pyrinsomniac and AGodofIrony) kudos and brownie points.

Well then... on with the show.

**War of the Eyes**

**Chapter One: Not Quite in Synch**

_Somewhere in the forests north of Konoha..._

The sun had passed its high point this day, and was in the middle of its descent beyond the western horizon. Already the golden light was beginning to bring glorious color to the few stray clouds that floated in the distance, and one staring up into this magnificent sky could almost be drawn up and away, lost in a land of bright, beautiful dreams. The colors bled down through the dense, leafy canopy, illuminating the forest floor in shimmering brilliance.

The dense woodland was devoid of any sound save that of singing birds and crickets, which seemed to speed the retreating sun on its way, wishing it safe travels. All else—the predators and prey, the grazers and the breezes—was quiet in reverence of the end of the day. Tranquility reigned, and the forest seemed ready to slip into the peace of night without conflict.

However, not all of the things that were in the forest shared that vision of blessed sleep.

A single figure, garbed in black and orange, crouched on a thick tree limb in the shadow of the canopy. This figure wore a hitai-ate engraved with a leaf, below which deep blue eyes peered out, surveying the woods to the south. He also had spiky golden hair and birthmarks shaped like whiskers on either side of his face.

Shifting his weight uncomfortably, he strained to keep his eyes focused on the thicket in front of him. Any moment now, the thing he was watching for might come speeding through, and if he missed it, then the entire effort could be compromised. He had been waiting a long time already; if he waited this long only to fail, then he might as well have the word "dobe" stamped across his forehead instead of the sign of the Caged Bird. That very seal prickled suddenly, causing him to slap at his forehead in irritation.

He was so distracted by this impromptu discomfort that he nearly missed sighting the target. As it was, he was lucky enough to pick up the movement in his peripheral vision as it came zooming towards the northern ravine from the southeast, ruffling leaves as it went. Pulling his forehead protector snugly around his head once more, he forgot his distraction and focused on the task.

It was show time. The figure tapped a button on his radio, sending the silent signal spinning through the airwaves to his partner in the ravine. The single low tone that his partner would hear would give the confirmation of the sighting and put her on her guard, ready to spring the trap as the target walked into it. He waited until the target was half a kilometer away before he leaped from the branch, following in its wake. A grin crossed his face—after all that waiting around, it was finally time for action.

As chaotic as his mind had become these days, Uzumaki Naruto still got wonderfully high on action.

Within minutes, the target left the trees and crossed into the rocky canyon. Naruto could see him now, clad entirely in black and wearing a full face mask. No part of the enemy's body was visible and he carried no village insignia, but that was to be expected; the target description had specified this explicitly.

As they neared the designated ambush point—a particularly narrow section in the ravine—Naruto keyed his radio again, this time in a burst of three shorter taps. This was the final warning to his partner that the moment was at hand. He had no doubt in his mind that she could see the enemy by now, but this was protocol... and it was better to be safe than sorry, a lesson he had learned early on in his first year with the Toad Sannin. He got two short tones in his own earpieces, confirming that everything was in place. His grin widened. Of course she would be ready by now—she was a reliable girl. He removed his headset and tossed it to the side of the ravine; in combat, such equipment would only get in the way.

He heard the loud _snap_ as the target tripped one of the trap's wires. A shout of profanity echoed throughout the ravine, at which Naruto smiled broadly—he could guess, now, who the target was—followed closely by the noises of tumbling rocks. The boulders had been cleverly hidden behind the narrow section of canyon walls, and it was only now, when they had come rolling noisily into the enemy's path, that they became visible. The target was now trapped between the dangerous rock slide and the advancing Naruto.

"Damn it," the black-clad target said as Naruto caught up with him. "I should have smelled that one coming..."

"Too late now!" Naruto shouted. "Give up?"

"What, now?" asked the victim incredulously. "Not on your life!"

He formed a single seal with his hands. **"Shikyaku no Jutsu!"** (Four-legged Technique)

Now there was no doubt about the identity of Naruto's opponent, but that didn't help the blond against his superior speed. Naruto was forced to put all of his agility to work, dodging the repetitive claw-like swipes from multiple directions. Naruto kept his guard up, looking for an opening through which he could attack. Eight seconds into combat, he found it.

As he juked slightly to the right to avoid a deadly slash on his left side, Naruto brought his knee up into the enemy's gut. It was a glancing blow, and it didn't do much damage, but it did slow the enemy's momentum, and that gave Naruto time to grab hold of one of the enemy's legs. Gripping it securely, Naruto spun around once, carrying the remaining momentum with the target and using it to fling him towards the western wall. Naruto wasn't done yet, either; even as the opponent sailed across the ravine, he was already running through a set of hand seals with frenzied speed.

"Here's a new one," he said as he completed it. Then, he sucked in a huge breath in preparation for the jutsu that would slam his enemy more forcefully than originally predicted—and perhaps more than was necessary—into the canyon wall.

"**Fuuton: Renkuudan!" **(Wind Style: Compressed Air Bullet)

The human-sized ball of air tore free of Naruto's lungs and flew with relentless speed at the enemy, hitting him squarely in the chest only five meters before impact with the canyon wall. The squished opponent gasped in shock and pain as his bones strained to stay in their natural alignment and all of the breath left his body. Naruto let him off easy, and watched as he sank to the ground on his hands and knees coughing.

The triumphant blond walked leisurely toward the enemy who he presumed was defeated, intending to incapacitate him only after a thorough bragging session. He was counting his eye-gouging larvae before they hatched, however, for only ten meters away, the enemy ceased his fake coughing and finished the jutsu he'd been preparing under his bent-over body.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"** (Summoning Technique)

Naruto barely moved out of the way of the huge beast that suddenly zoomed toward him out of the puff of smoke. It was monstrous, perhaps three times the size of a human, and it had four legs, a tail, and fur. The fur was black, but it looked somehow unnatural, as though the black color had been spray-painted on. Skidding to a stop some distance away, the beast barked ferociously at him.

"Hehe," said the enemy, "You fell for it. How are you going to deal with both of us the way you are now?"

Naruto smirked, gazing up at the top of the western wall. Silhouetted against the setting sun, bathed in the gold and pink and oranges of the day's end, was a female figure. In its hands were two kunai. Both of the knives had tags tied to them.

"We'll deal with it just fine," Naruto said, "Since it'll be two on two..."

"Eh?" The opponent looked up into the beautifully colored sky just in time to see and dodge the incoming attack. He flipped up and over Naruto as the twin explosions collapsed the western wall. As he landed by his summoned beast, his eyes formed an ocular scowl.

"Good timing, Hinata," said Naruto as his partner landed, light-footed, on his left.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," said the girl, her long, dark hair fluttering in the breeze generated by the aftershock. "I took too long to make sure the trap would hold..."

"No big deal," Naruto said, shrugging it off with a smile. "I could hold these two clowns off forever."

The enemy started. "What was that, you punk?"

The dog yipped angrily with his master, and Naruto laughed.

"If you've got time to call me names, then you should use it to think about how to save yourself. You ready, Hinata?"

The girl, who had watched the interchange with a somewhat nervous look in her eyes, immediately straightened, preparing herself for the fight ahead.

"Yes!" she said with genuine enthusiasm. This would be the first time she and Naruto had used this technique in the field since the conflict with Sasuke back in Konoha. She was eager to see how their skill had improved. Veins popped out around the sockets of her pearly eyes.

"**Byakugan!"**

Naruto lifted several small Velcro flaps on his jacket—one on each elbow and one below each armpit, uncovering four tiny holes which were not just for ventilation. He'd had Sakura make the modifications to his clothes the previous day. It would allow the Ghostly Arms to escape their orange and black confines more easily.

"Okay!" he yelled, snaking the Arms out to reach his white-eyed partner. "Synch!"

The arms of the Reiude squirmed, invisible to all but those with the keenest of eyes, down the neck of Hinata's jacket, where they joined with the girl's tenketsus. They had practiced it several times before today, and Naruto was able to find her opening points easily. He smiled broadly as they connected.

"Synchronization complete," he intoned confidently. He felt the sense of power and awareness flow into him as Hinata's chakra and senses became one with his own. Through the connection, he also became aware of Hinata's reaction to the new resources. She was still whelmed by the new and sudden sensations, but she seemed to be getting used to the feeling, for she was not overpowered and was ready to fight in half a heartbeat.

"Let's go!" he shouted.

The two of them ran full-out towards the human and beast enemies. Testing a silent communication technique that he and Hinata had worked on, he pulled a piece of Hinata's chakra from their combined energy pool and focused it on his left side, which was the side the dog was on. It seemed to work; using the shared all-seeing Byakugan vision, he watched as Hinata pulled a piece of his chakra and compacted it on her right side, indicating the human opponent.

The enemy charged as well, offense being their best defense. Just before impact, Naruto and Hinata changed sides, each coming at the opponent that he or she had indicated, and opposite from the opponent they'd each been facing. Taken by surprise, the enemy balked as Naruto swung up onto the back of the startled dog and Hinata speared towards the human's gut with a Jyuuken strike, which barely missed as the opponent's reflexes kicked in and made him leap away to the right. However, Hinata had much more chakra than just her own to draw on, and so the intensity of the strike was such that the enemy's hand went to his side in pain though he had only been grazed by hair.

The dog, meanwhile, growled and thrashed, trying to throw Naruto off his back. Naruto held tightly to him, however. As the beast came down from a particularly high leap, the blond formed the hand seal for his bread-and-butter ninjutsu.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

Five Shadow Clones burst into being around Naruto, leaping off the dog's back to the ground below. They rushed the beast, trying to grab onto its legs and immobilize it. Two were knocked aside by the maddened dog's paw and head, but the remaining three latched onto the two hind legs and left foreleg, clutching each limb with an arm and both legs while using the remaining hands to dig into the ground with kunai knives, anchoring themselves.

"You're through, you dumb mutt," Naruto said, vaulting off of the beast and running to join Hinata. If they could defeat the human quickly enough, they could deal with the monster dog alone.

Hinata had been forced into a defensive position, as the human once again resorted to his Shikyaku no Jutsu and ran around the ravine on four legs. Hinata remained stationary as the beast-man zipped around her, dancing around his attacks while having her own strikes evaded by the speedy moving target. When Naruto arrived, however, there were only so many places that he could run.

"We've got you now!" the blond shouted. "Surrender or get creamed... your choice!"

"Damn it," the enemy said. "You're crafty. But we'll get around that with enough force!"

The beast-man feinted another assault on Hinata, making her dodge away from Naruto, and then wheeled toward the blond shinobi, leaping into the air and twisting his body like a tubular windmill.

"Take this! **Tsuuga!**" (Piercing Fang)

Naruto was quick on his feet, and dodged it easily. But the attack was never meant to hit Naruto; the man's objective was to make him get out of the way, which the Tsuuga did very well. Once past Naruto, the beast-man came out of his cyclone motion and bolted on all fours for his animal, leaping onto its back with determination in his feral eyes.

"We'll show you real synchronization!" he cried. **"Jinjuu Combi Henge: Soutourou!"** (Human-Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf)

From out of the cloud of white smoke emerged the form of the largest canine Naruto had ever seen. It was easily six meters tall, possessing snow-white fur and two massive heads, each of which was the size of a man. This monstrosity glared down at Naruto with infinite malice as it dispatched his clones with two swipes of its paws.

"Heh!" Naruto scoffed, pulling out a kunai, "You don't scare me at all!" The blond took advantage of his partner's superior vision, and the Byakugan told him all of the Soutourou's secrets—including where the human in the transformation was hiding. Reverting back to his own eyes, he stared up at the right head.

_There, _he thought.

"Hinata," he called, "I'm going to take this thing apart. Wait here and don't let the human get away!"

Without waiting to hear a response, he charged the monster dog head-on. The enemy didn't wait around to be hit, and sped away to the left. Naruto couldn't keep up with it at all, but this was part of the game; if the enemy was to win, it had to attack at some point. Sure enough, when the dog had gone a sufficient distance, it turned and raged back towards him, becoming a whirlwind of brute force.

"**Garouga!" **(Double Wolf Fang)

Naruto knew this move; he'd seen it practiced several times since he'd returned to Konoha, in the forest where Team Eight trained. He waited until the enemy was almost upon him before collecting a huge amount of chakra from the combined pool beneath his feet and launching himself into the air. He felt the connection between him and Hinata come apart as he went beyond the Synchronization's range, but did not worry much about it; it could be easily reestablished once he landed. The huge dog came out of its spin and began to skid to a stop, intending to turn and try again. In his present upward trajectory, Naruto wouldn't have any time to drop down and get ready.

But Naruto wasn't about to let himself stay up there that long.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

The single clone grabbed onto its creator's legs and twisted three times in midair before releasing him, sending the real Naruto plummeting like a stone straight downward onto the dog's back. It had barely gotten turned around. It began thrashing, but Naruto made his attack quick and clean—enhancing his kunai with wind-element chakra, he severed the giant dog's second head.

The monster yowled in pain, but there was no blood spurting from the neck. Instead, the beast merely puffed away, leaving an angry dog where the main body had been and a battered human where the head had landed. Naruto landed between them, triumphant.

"That'll teach..."

"**Jyuuken!"**

The sounds of battle behind caught Naruto's attention. In the glory of the win, he had momentarily forgotten to redo the Synch. Turning, he saw that Hinata was under assault by a second black-clad ninja—this one a female.

_He had backup? _ Naruto thought frantically as he rushed to help her. His Ghostly Arms flew back in her direction, trying to reconnect their chakra and senses. It was more difficult to Synch with a moving target, but after a few awkward tries, he did it.

Hinata seemed to be somewhat disadvantaged. The opponent fought using the same fighting style, but was far more aggressive, attacking with remorseless speed, not wanting to give Hinata a chance to get her own attack off. Hinata hadn't been hit even glancingly, but she certainly wasn't hitting anything herself. Naruto closed the distance between them rapidly, aiming to interfere.

The enemy was aware, intelligent, and agile, for she managed to detect Naruto's approach, then feint a huge death blow at Hinata, causing her to dodge the wrong way, and blast a gale of forceful chakra at Naruto all in the same fluid movement. Naruto reacted by leaping to his right, evading the whirlwind.

Then he grinned. _She's good at keeping away interference, _he thought, _but we'll fix that. Hinata, it'll be up to you... will you remember the technique we were working on?_

Hinata couldn't hear his thoughts—the powers of the Synchronization jutsu didn't extend qute _that_ far—but Naruto thought he felt her sense that he was planning something. Deciding to put faith in her ability to think fast, he worked the Kage Bunshin jutsu for the third time, surrounding the female opponent with four clones. As one, all of them plus the real one swarmed toward the Hyuuga girl and her opponent from all directions.

The enemy responded practically, disengaging from Hinata temporarily to deal with this new threat. She began to twirl around, slowly at first, but gaining speed quickly.

"**Hakke Shou Kai... **huh?"

The enemy stopped twirling suddenly as she felt herself struck behind the knee caps. Looking down, she saw Hinata's fingers pressed solidly into the pair of tenketsu there. It was not a large Hakke manipulation, but it did its job. The woman's legs could not carry chakra so well anymore, and as a result their momentum and coordination dropped too low. The Kaiten was no longer an option.

She might have been able to fight, still, if she had been given time to disentangle herself and get back into her stance. However, Naruto and his clones were closing in, and they didn't give her that time. The first one landed a punch to her jaw, sending her staggering backwards.

"**U..."**

Naruto used this first clone as a springboard, leaping off of its back and sailing high into the air. The other three clones dropped to the ground, sliding the rest of the way towards the woman and delivering three sharp upward kicks, launching her towards the brilliantly-colored sky.

"**Zu..."**

"**Ma..."**

"**Ki..."**

Helpless to do anything in the air, the enemy could only watch with wide silver eyes through her black mask. The true Naruto came down from his leap, smashing his foot down into her stomach. The impact, as well as causing her severe abdominal pain, sent her plummeting back towards the very solid, very unwelcoming ground.

"**Naruto..."**

_Damn, this is it, _thought the woman. Then she saw the Hyuuga girl below her, arms crossed in front of her chest. Hinata's palms were gleaming brilliant blue with concentrated chakra. The woman knew then that she was going to hurt very, very badly. As she neared the ground, Hinata's arms uncrossed...

"**Nibai Kirite Combi Rendan!" **(Entire name: Uzumaki Naruto Twin Cutter Combo)

However, as Hinata finished the combination attack, she lifted her arms slightly, so that the criss-crossing chakra lances sliced the air above the opponent's head rather than the opponent herself. The only injury that the woman suffered thereafter was the loss of air in her lungs as one of Naruto's clones rushed beneath her and absorbed her fall.

"That's a kill," Naruto said. "You're out, Haruka nee-chan."

Haruka, now being "dead," no longer had any need to keep her mask on, and removed it. Her face was set in a scowl, having been soundly beaten by two kids—even special kids like these. Haruka's tendency to be a sore loser remained manifest even in these dark times. Extricating herself from Naruto's clone, she stomped on it once, causing it to puff into smoke as she pulled her long midnight-colored hair out of the back of her shirt. It was loose from its braid, and it fluttered wildly as the wind picked up.

"Hmph," she said, "I'd congratulate you, Naruto-kun, but it's not quite over yet. There's still the document to recover from the other target."

"Kiba?" Naruto asked, waving off her statement, "I already took care of him..."

"Think again, Naruto! **Gatsuuga!**" yelled the voice of the first target, followed shortly by the echoing grinding generated by the clearing of the rock-pile trap.

"Crap!" Naruto shouted, sprinting after him. But Kiba and Akamaru were too far away already, and after quickly clearing the rubble, Kiba hopped onto his pet's back and the two sprinted away into the receding daylight, much too fast for Naruto to catch up. In moments, they rounded a corner in the ravine and were gone.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_At the travellers' camp, gathered around the fire..._

"Really, it's all right, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, patching a wound on Naruto's arm. "We did very well..."

Naruto sighed heavily. "Yeah," he conceded, "We did. But that doesn't change the fact that I screwed up again. I've been making too many damned mistakes since we left."

"That's nothing new," said Kiba with a smirk. He was pleased that he'd had some small triumph that day, even if Naruto had been handicapped.

"Shut up, Kiba," Naruto said, glaring at him. "If I could've used my other Reiude techniques..."

"That's not the point, Naruto-kun," interrupted Haruka between bites of dried jerky. "That practice was meant to measure the effectiveness of the Synchronization jutsu only. Letting you use the other Reiude maneuvers or the Kyuubi's chakra would have made it too easy for you. Incidentally, your teamwork with the Synch is getting better. Not the best tactics against Soutourou, though... you should have distracted it and let Hinata do the demolition work..."

Naruto didn't say anything. He gulped down the last of his cup ramen and got up from the log he sat on, pulling on his jacket.

"Going to practice," he grunted, and started off into the moonlit forest.

Hinata frowned. She'd been trying to cheer him up since their ultimate loss to Kiba's thick hide, but had had little success. This wasn't the first time, either; Naruto had been uncharacteristically moody since the little group had left the village, and this manifested primarily whenever Naruto experienced an undeniable failure. Minor failures, such as the repetitive trial-and-error process of learning a new technique did not faze him—he had never allowed such things to get in his way before, and likely never would—but an unrectifiable mistake, such as this defeat during a competitive exercise, drove him into a self-destructive anger that became more difficult to assuage with each new occurrence.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said, her voice soft but—out of necessity—firmer than she'd like it to be. Naruto ceased walking and turned to look over his shoulder at her. "You must not let yourself get so depressed. Kiba-kun is right; you've always made mistakes. But please, remember... this is what makes you stronger. You always get back up and keep going... a proud failure, capable of anything because he has the strength to carry on."

Naruto heard the words and, after taking a moment to absorb them, cracked a wide smile. He did remember; the first time that she had spoken those words, three years ago, and then proving them himself time and time again throughout his training. He looked at Hinata, saw the care and worry she held for him in her liquid white eyes and pale, beautiful face. Seeing such a sight, his anger fled.

"You're right, Hinata," he said. "I _do _have that strength. Just gotta keep at it."

The Hyuuga girl gave a mental sigh of relief and spread her lips in a smile of her own. Ignoring the snickering of Kiba and the mischievous smile on the face of Haruka, she relaxed, confident that Naruto seemed to be returning to himself. A depressed, self-destructive Naruto was not the Naruto she had fallen in love with, and it discomforted her immensely to see him that way.

"Good luck with your practice, Naruto-kun," she said.

"Hehe, thanks," returned Naruto. "If I don't come back in an hour or two, come drag me back... I might just be too much of a proud failure for my own good."

"Don't worry," Haruka said, "I'll make sure somebody volunteers to lug your carcass back here. Here, hold this, I'm going to go crack open the dried fruit."

She tossed her half-empty water cup to Kiba, who floundered to catch it without dropping his own. He didn't quite manage the feat, and ended up slopping some moisture onto himself, at which Akamaru ejaculated a noise somewhere between a bark and a laugh.

Responding with only a slight widening of his smile, Naruto turned and left, off to continue his practice. Hinata didn't go with him for his evening session; Naruto always used the late hours to work on his wind jutsu, which Hinata had little use for and which were often—in a word—harmful to things in the immediate vicinity. Why Naruto had suddenly decided to pursue wind jutsu nobody was entirely sure, for he had said nothing about it and nobody had felt compelled to ask.

As his form disappeared from view into the darkness of the night, Hinata emitted a heavy sigh.

"I can't understand what has happened to him," she said. "He never used to get so upset like this..."

"He's not the only one," came a female voice emerging from one of the tents. Hinata turned.

"What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" she asked.

"Neji," replied the pink-haired medical ninja. Her green eyes showed signs of wear as she took a seat next to her dark-haired friend. "He's not very happy, having to deal with... with _him_ all day."

Everyone present knew what Sakura meant by _him._ Akamaru gave a low whimper, perhaps in sympathy for Neji, or perhaps out of a fearful memory; the big dog had stood in the presence of the dark Uchiha avenger on the night of the terrible invasion, and had seen the terrible power in him. Though the beast had acted bravely in the face of that at the time, Kiba had professed that the dog had been having occasional nightmares since then.

"Anyone would be unhappy, having to watch and get directions from _him _all the time," remarked Kiba. "That, and Neji's kind of similar to him. They were both called 'geniuses' after all, and if opposites attract, then like things repel..."

"Could that be what's bothering Naruto-kun?" wondered Hinata. "He does have to watch _him_ at night after all..."

"It could be," came a quiet voice from the shadows. Everyone had all but forgotten about the quiet and reserved Shino, who sat on a log slightly away from the group, barely close enough to the fire to feel its warmth. His face, shadowed by the night in addition to his heavy hooded jacket and dark sunglasses, was nearly invisible.

"But," he continued, "I believe that it is not the only thing affecting him. Naruto is likely suffering from fatigue..."

"That's not possible," Sakura interjected. "I checked him just this morning, and he was as healthy as ever physically..."

Shino's eyebrows, invisible in the darkness, narrowed slightly, but he did not express his annoyance. To call a girl on rudeness would not avail him anything. Besides, Sakura was a trusted comrade; starting an argument with her over trivial things would weaken the team. Instead, he opted to continue speaking as if nothing had happened.

"Naruto is likely suffering from fatigue of the mind. He has been under much pressure lately. The combination of the situation with Sasuke, his missing friend, Keisuke, and the sudden discovery of Hinata's affections has likely overwhelmed him."

Hinata's eyes widened. "B-Because of me...?"

"Ha!" Kiba laughed. "If you ask me, he's no different from normal. He'll deal with it like he always does... smash himself up with his training and then kick the crap out of something, and then he'll feel better."

Kiba reached down to feed Akamaru a scrap of jerky. The dog accepted the dried meat with a gleeful yip, and his master gave him a rough pat on the head and scratched his ears. When he looked up, however, Kiba leaned toward Hinata.

"If there is something wrong with him, I don't think it's your fault, Hinata. Hell, if he didn't go out of his way to spend so much time with you during the day, I'd swear nothing's changed between you since you two did the tongue-tango in the hospital..."

An embarrassed blush found its way to Hinata's face. "K-Kiba-kun...!"

"What's this about tongue-tango?" Haruka plunked back down in her seat, a ration of dried fruit in her hands. "Where's my water?"

"Oh," said Kiba, picking it up and handing it to her, "Here."

"Thanks," came the reply. Haruka took a swig and said, "Well, what is it? You guys swapping dirty stories now?"

"No," Sakura volunteered, "We were thinking about how Naruto's been acting strange lately..."

Shino took his turn to interrupt Sakura. "Hinata seems to have interpreted—mistakenly, in my opinion—that her confession to Naruto is part of the root of his problems."

Haruka chewed an apple chip as she thought it over. Swallowing and taking another drink, she leaned towards the fire. An oddly serious look was on her face.

"Well, it's actually not that far-fetched," she said. "People—particularly thick-skulled men—tend to get a little weird when they learn about this kind of thing..."

"Oh?" asked Kiba, "You know from experience?"

Immediately after the words were out of his mouth, the dog trainer regretted them. For one long second, Haruka fixed him with a look that was half hurt and all poison. Everyone present who knew Haruka well also knew that Kiba had just crossed a dangerous threshold.

"No," said Haruka coolly, seeming to let it slide. Her eyes did not fall on Kiba again that night, however. "But I do know people who do. That's not what we're talking about now. My point is this..."

Haruka's face seemed to become that of a hell-spawned demon or succubus as her mouth formed the familiar wicked smile and the light of the flames played across her skin. Hinata regarded her with slightly fearful curiosity; she knew that Haruka would never really harm her, but she also knew that the woman Keisuke called "Sadist" did not discriminate when it came to making people squirm.

"You might very well have irradiated Naruto-kun's brain with your 'tongue-tango,'" she said, "But radiation, if I remember any medical babble correctly, can do more than just cause a cancer like this depression of his. It can also cure it. I can help, if you want..."

"Good idea," Kiba said, picking up on Haruka's direction. "You've taken a step, but Naruto's still dense, so it might not have sunk in all the way. You ought to make another move on him, Hinata."

Hinata's discomfort grew rapidly. The last thing she needed was for Kiba to start teasing her again about Naruto; Haruka, not having Keisuke to torment at the moment, seemed to have chosen Naruto and Hinata as her new primary playthings, so she had that covered. Pink in the face, she rose from her seat.

"Excuse me," she said, "I-I have to go check something..."

She didn't wait for the next remark, but escaped speedily into the forest with as much dignity as she could muster. Haruka leaned back and gave a sigh.

"Oh well," she said, "I guess I'll let her off easy today. She did do really well in the exercise today, after all."

Sakura watched Hinata go, feeling somewhat sorry for her shy friend. She turned to Haruka and Kiba with reproachfulness in her green stare.

"You really shouldn't be pushing her," she reprimanded them. "Hinata's come really far in the last few weeks already. Don't you think she deserves a break?"

"Maybe," admitted Haruka, "But I'd get bored otherwise, and I doubt you'd want me having fun at _your_ expense instead." With that, the older Hyuuga got back up from her perch and stretched herself out.

"No," said Sakura to herself, "I don't think I would." Then, more audibly: "I personally think that Hinata's done all that she can. She won't push forward any further until she gets a response from Naruto."

"Which, considering how block-headed he is," said Kiba, "Could happen maybe this century, maybe next century, or maybe not at all."

"Oh, come on, have faith in the kid," said Haruka. "I spent two years with him, and he eventually figures things out..."

She gave a yawn. "Well, I'm going to sleep. If Naruto doesn't come back, wake me up... I'll prod someone into going after him. 'Night."

"Good night, Haruka-san," said Sakura.

"'Night," said Kiba.

Sakura waited until she was out of earshot before she said, "Haruka-san seems to be acting awfully cheerful since we left," she observed. "I heard that after the attack, she was very unstable, which is understandable, considering what happened to Keisuke-san. What happened, do you think?"

"Got me," said Kiba. "All I know is, I never want to get on her bad side."

"She is like Naruto in many ways," Shino put in. "She enjoys pranks, and she gets a thrill from battle. And also, she is skilled at creating a mask to cover up her insecurities."

Sakura took this in with a ponderous expression. It seemed a plausible analogy. But was it the truth? If it was, then did that make what was under the mask dangerous? Many noble people had kept their inner desires suppressed for a long time, only to let them manifest at the worst times. Such an incident had ruined Team Seven.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Kiba gave a wide, fanged yawn of his own.

"Well," he said, "I think Akamaru and I'll hit the sack, too. Winning can take a lot out of you."

He started off towards his tent, which he had pitched furthest from the fire. As he went, Sakura decided that perhaps she had been thinking about it too hard. Haruka was probably harmless, in exactly the way that Naruto was harmless.

"Ach!" came a sharp yell from Kiba's tent. "Wha... What the hell is this?"

Well, maybe not _totally_ harmless.

OoOoOoOo End Chapter One oOoOoOoO

**A/N: **How's that? Non-cliffhangery enough?

I was going to add more, but the chapter is long enough as is, plus the sight of my brother in a French Maid outfit with a black-and-purple wig, stiletto heels and fishnet hose just killed my creative urges. Halloween costumes just get stranger and stranger around here.

Questions, comments, and contributions are all welcome. Just make sure to put reviews with it, too. ;)

Chapter Two will be out sometime this week.


	3. C2: When I Sleep

**A/N: **Hoo-Rah! Ah-ha! My Alma Mater's football team is kicking so much butt this year. Won 57-7 last night, and all set to rip up the next team's homecoming. If I can, I'll get a picture of myself in full mascot gear and post it on MySpace so you can all see what an idiot I am when it comes to sporting events.

More brownie points need giving out to all those helpful people who reminded me that links don't go in the stories, but in the Author Profiles instead. I've updated my own profile with the links I wanted, so that problem is resolved. Thanks again, guys!

**War of the Eyes**

**Chapter Two: When I Sleep**

"**Fuuton: Kamisori Kabe no Jutsu!" **(Wind Style: Razor Wall Technique)

Powerful gusts blew around Naruto in a loose circular pattern, as the winds of a tropical storm might blow around its eye. Branches swayed and bent in the tumultuous gale, and some lesser plants were uprooted. The forest floor within a ten meter radius of his feet had been ground down by repeated high-intensity blasts of air until it was little more than dust and sand.

"Not focused enough," Naruto judged. "With loose control like that, it's not gonna cut anything. Okay, again..."

His face screwed itself up in concentration as he slowly made the signs again. Cold sweat ran slowly down his tired body, and his chakra was beginning to run out, but Naruto would not rest tonight until he had mastered this jutsu. He needed to master as many as he could before the day of reckoning came.

_I am strong, _he thought. _I beat Sasuke. But I need to be even stronger, because the bastard snake, Orochimaru, will be at least three times as strong as that. Only the kind of power that can beat a Sannin will save Keisuke and stop the wars..._

"**Fuuton: Kamisori Kabe no Jutsu!"**

It seemed to work better this time. A few of the leaves that fell from the canopy above him were bisected, and large gashes appeared in some of the surrounding tree trunks.

"Too spread-out," Naruto said, breathing heavier now. "Has to be more collected and more centered, or it'll be too easy to get past, and I might hurt my friends. Again!"

His muscles seemed about to give out. His whole body felt heavy.

The justu wasn't perfect yet. His hands kept forming the seals.

_No shortcuts, _he thought. _This is how I get stronger. Try, fail, learn, repeat until success. Hinata's right; whining and moping won't help anyone..._

"**Fuuton: Kamisori Kabe no Jutsu!"**

The tree trunks were spared more gashes this time, but the falling leaves were nearly shredded. Naruto formed a small grin.

"Better," he told himself. "Now it just needs more power. Cutting leaves is a parlor trick—I gotta be able to cut wood, steel, and humans."

Naruto took a moment to catch his breath and drink water from a flask he had brought. His chakra was almost gone and he needed the nourishment to keep going. Hopefully, if he could get up enough power on this try, it would be perfect and he could call it good.

Then his train of thought rounded a curve, taking him in another direction.

_Hinata worries too much. I understand why, knowing how she feels, but..._

He gave a heavy sigh. This entire thing with Hinata was still so new to him, and he ached in his head and his chest when he thought about it too hard. The problem was, he often couldn't stop thinking about it once he got started. Sitting down in his pile of dust and shredded leaves and taking a long pull on his canteen, his memory of that first day after the invasion came back to him.

Having been seeing much of Hinata since returning to the village, the blond had begun to like her with slowly increasing intensity, and—after a generous amount of evidence—to suspect her of liking him. He had tried to ask her about it, and been repeatedly interrupted. He chuckled to himself, remembering how frustrated he had been in his mind that day.

He was still bewildered at how it had been Hinata's father, the ever-haughty Hyuuga Hiashi, who had answered his question. The words tingled in his mind...

"_She has long admired you, and over the years this admiration has become a powerful infatuation, and recently love... Are you all right?" _

Naruto had fallen out of the bed then, and it took a considerable amount of willpower not to knock his head against the nearby tree at the present. He should not have been surprised that day, considering all of the evidence that had been dumped at his feet through the years, and yet he was surprised anyway.

And when Hinata had returned, the most intriguing thing that he had ever experienced took place. Having attempted once again to confirm his suspicions—and now Hiashi's declaration—and been interrupted yet again, Hinata had pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him. He would have expected such a thing to be a powerful experience, and he had not been disappointed; in fact, it had far surpassed his expectations. The kiss had not been especially deep or long and there was a certain amount of clumsiness, for both were quite inexperienced, Naruto was bewildered, and Hinata had already surpassed her capacity for boldness by initiating the lip-lock.

It had ended abruptly when Akamaru had broken down the door to the room, resulting in a rapid retreat by the Hyuuga girl before the inevitable appearance of Kiba. She had gone out of the room extremely red-faced, leaving behind a slightly stunned Naruto and a Kiba who had a knowing smirk on his lips. It had been brief, but it had told Naruto everything he had needed to know.

The question was, what was Naruto meant to do about it? He knew he liked Hinata a lot, and had been liking her increasingly since his return to Konoha. Not only was she a really nice person—she was intelligent and had grown much stronger since their parting three years before. She also shared his way of the ninja, never going back on her word no matter the consequences to herself. That, Naruto thought, was a very admirable trait. Putting all this aside, Hinata had also become exceedingly beautiful, and on several occasions his body had acknowledged this fact while his brain had taken a temporary coffee break.

But... love? So quickly? Naruto felt somewhat guilty; he knew that Hinata's feelings were no fleeting crush, for they had developed over the course of many years—that kiss, however clumsy, had been the most genuine expression he had ever felt—and yet he did not feel as though he could match that love with his own just yet. He found himself recalling the signs of real and true love, taught awkwardly to him one man to another by Keisuke in a late-night ramen session...

_Commitment, _he thought. _Secrets. Trust. Understanding. If I were to commit myself to Hinata, there's no way I would let her down... that's my nindo. But am I ready to make a commitment like that? Right now, I have other things to think about: Saving Keisuke, stopping this huge war, killing Orochimaru. _

_As for secrets, _he mused, scratching his head, _There aren't many secrets left in me, but I don't know much about her other than she's pretty, is a good person, and doesn't give up. If it's going to work, I'd have to start learning more about her._

_Trust is already there. I'd trust Hinata with my life and probably my ramen, and I'm sure she would trust her own with me. _

_And understanding... Keisuke said we should know where we're both going in life and figure out how each other fits into that plan. I don't think either of us have really thought about that yet. Bottom line, there's a lot to do before I can really say I'm in love... So what am I supposed to do in the meantime?_

He needed to be focusing on his training. This mission required that he put aside personal problems and do what was needed to ensure success.

She was _really_ pretty. That kiss was awfully nice.

_Aw, what the hell, _he thought, standing up, _Maybe I can try to work on it a bit... but will it really be okay to mess around while I've got all this other stuff on my plate? Gah! It's so confusing!_

"**Fuuton: Kamisori Kabe no Jutsu!"**

The force of the wind was so great that the ground beneath him, having already been severely worn down, was ground into a fine sand. After it was over, the sand sank back in to fill the hole that had been created, burying Naruto to his shoulders. The bits and pieces of falling leaves fluttered around his head like confetti.

"Perfect..." he said.

Then his eyes closed. Devoid of all chakra and energy, Naruto fell asleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

He was in _that_ place again. There were the huge bars of the monster's cage, standing as solid as ever, though the water flowing at their bases made every effort to rust them. There also was the great lock, over which was affixed the paper tag bearing the word, "SEAL." The place was as dark and dim as always, and as he stood before the cage, he could not shake off the imposing impression of inferiority that accompanied the monster's aura.

Evil eyes gazed down upon Naruto as they had many times in the past. He had felt the gaze of those who hated him often enough in the past, but this hate had been inspired out of fear. While it saddened him, it did not give him pause. This hate-filled glare belonged to one who did not fear him at all, for it was much larger and was built for destruction.

Destruction that Naruto prevented him from wreaking every day he was alive.

_**Welcome back to hell, my host, **_said the Kyuubi, spitting the final word with acid contempt. **_I was beginning to think that perhaps you had managed to escape the need for sleep, as the Shukaku's medium did. I am pleased to see that I was wrong; now the fun may begin again._**

The blond floated, helpless, within his own mind. Struggle as he might—and struggle he did, willing his muscles with every fiber of his being to carry him away from this place—sleep bound him, and while it lasted, he could not lift a finger. He wanted so badly to shout at the monster fox as it laughed and continued speaking.

_**It is so wonderful to be having your company every night... I think I am rather beginning to like this new seal. Look, I think it may be growing clearer! **_

Kyuubi directed Naruto's vision up towards the ceiling of the prison chamber. Sure enough, the "new seal" it had mentioned was there; a pale green marking, glowing softly in the darkness. It was distorted and blurred, but it was very large, spanning the length of the entire ceiling, and Naruto could see that through the distortion it resembled a pair of bird's wings, from which dangled chains. The two wings were joined symmetrically at the top of the wall of bars, with one reaching into Kyuubi's cell and the other into Naruto's half of the room. Naruto wanted to groan.

The nine-tailed beast guffawed.

_**Yes! Despair, **_it crowed, **_for while you are master in the light of day, I will haunt you nightly in your dreams until we are parted. I have been caged alone for these years, but now we are two birds caged together, thanks to this wonderful new seal destabilizing our old bond. Even I, the most powerful destructive force to walk this land, never dreamed of being given this chance to repay you for your hospitality, but while I still have it, I have every intention of using it!_**

_Damn you, _the dreaming Naruto thought. _Shut the hell up!_

_**Let us see, **_wondered the Kyuubi, **w****_hat shall we do tonight? Shall I show you images of your dear friends' inevitable fates? I have a few wonderful new ideas for Keisuke nii-chan. Or perhaps I will remind you of your ten thousand pitiful failures, since you seem to have regained your confidence... or should we call it ignorance?_**

A few silent moments passed in which Naruto prayed for someone to wake him up and Kyuubi watched him with evil satisfaction in his eyes. The beast loved watching the boy squirm.

_**Ah, I have it! Let us experiment with your failures a little further—I'm sure we can make them lead into scenes of most grotesque death and destruction...**_

As Kyuubi's laughter drowned out all thought and the nightmare began Naruto steeled himself. The fight for his sanity, he knew, would be as long as and even more tiresome than that of the previous night.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"... I really need to get a better grip on myself," Hinata thought aloud as she wandered the black forest. Her long, dark hair swayed in the cool night breeze, and her eyes were reflections of the autumn moonlight. A wistful look dominated her delicate features, making her seem as a pale apparition in the night.

Having escaped the malicious mischief of Haruka and Kiba, she was experiencing mixed feelings of relief and—something she hadn't felt in a long time—shame. Hinata was as she had always been when Naruto was the main subject: reclusive, and panicky when confronted. Even having confessed, she still felt the need to run away when pressured by outsiders.

"I shouldn't be running away from it," she continued. "I should be proud of what I've done. By telling him, and then avoiding the subject, even with someone other than him... That is breaking my nindo, his nindo..."

_I never go back on my word. That's my nindo!_

"Naruto-kun," she breathed, "It is a wonderful way to live, I know that as well as you do, now. But you probably weren't thinking about the complexity of the human heart when you said that..."

She continued to walk aimlessly through the forest for an hour and more. At this moment, she cared nothing for the dangers of wandering a potential war zone alone; her mind demanded that it be given time to settle, and it would not relent. All the while, her thoughts continued in a vicious cycle, going from shame to fear and back again with no sign of stopping. The arguments differed slightly in each cycle, but always came back to the same points. Around and around it went, back and forth until she felt herself becoming sick.

Eventually, she woke from this mental darkness to find herself completely lost in the physical darkness of the forest. Realizing this, she heaved a sigh.

"More proof that I really need to get a hold of myself. **Byakugan!"**

The blood vessels rimming her pearly eyes engorged until they became readily visible, straining to supply the orbs with enough blood and chakra to operate the famed doujutsu. Hinata felt her vision expand by many, many factors. Looking a far distance in all directions, she tried to locate the camp, or at least some form of friendly life.

Her eyes snapped back to normal when they located the unconscious blond boy less than two kilometers away. Putting all thoughts of shame and fear behind her, she began running. There was no sign of any hostility in that direction, but with Naruto, one never knew what kind of trouble might be about. She reached the pit of sand and dust in the space of twenty heartbeats.

"Naruto-kun?" she called cautiously.

When she received no reply, she approached him, taking great care to be sure that no hidden dangers were present in the pit. Checking the area one more time with Byakugan and finding nothing, she grabbed Naruto under the arms and pulled hard, hauling him out with some difficulty. When at last he lay on his back before her, fully liberated from his self-created sand hole, she looked him over meticulously.

Physically, there was nothing wrong with him other than the expected exhaustion. The few cuts and scrapes that he had given himself throughout the day had already healed, and his pulse was strong. He was filthy and badly needed a wash, but this was nothing he couldn't take care of when he awakened.

Not all was normal with him internally, however. Looking over his chakra circulatory system, Hinata noted that although his normal chakra was almost gone, there was a moderate level of activity in the red chakra emanating from the demon seal on his abdomen. It ran a steady circuit between that seal and the pale green one upon his forehead.

And one thing especially worried her: while all this was going on, Naruto's face or body would give an occasional sporadic twitch or jerk, as though a knife blade had been thrust into him.

"Oh, Naruto-kun," she said softly, "I've been worrying about my own trivial problems while you were here, suffering alone in the dark. I'm so sorry."

She knelt beside the blond that she loved and cradled his head in her lap. Though he did not wake and his face continued to twitch off and on, the spasming of his body ceased. Hinata exhaled heavily, happy to see some improvement. She had had no idea that he had been having nightmares like this. And that strange chakra activity...

_I'll ask Sakura-chan about it tomorrow, _she thought. Her small, delicate hand found itself running through Naruto's messy golden hair.

_This is nice,_ she said to herself, _being alone like this with him. I haven't done it since we defeated Uchiha. It is sad, though, to only do it when he is in pain. I wonder... would he object to doing it when we are both healthy and comfortable?_

Her hopes were not high; Naruto seemed unlikely to respond to her anytime soon, and she doubted she would get up the nerve to ask while he was still unsure of his own feelings. It certainly was pleasant to dream of, however.

After a few moments, Hinata gently removed Naruto's head from her lap and stood up. Using the Byakugan again, she searched until she found the campsight—a faraway speck of light in the darkness. Not feeling secure about "lugging a heavy carcass," as Haruka had put it, but not wanting to leave Naruto alone in the forest in his condition, she hoisted him up unsteadily and began the running, leaping trek back to their comrades.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The blackness engulfed him. There was no light, no visibility at all. His world was comprised of four sensations; touch, smell, taste, sound. No borrowed eyes. No Ghostly Arms. Not even the normal ability to sense the subtle vibrations of the auras of people around him.

His dream self did not have the Ghostly Arms, and had not learned to sense auras at this age.

_No, _he begged with a voice that wasn't heard and would never be heard. _Don't show me this! It was too long ago, too long..._

The dream neither heard nor heeded him. It could only continue forward in its preprogrammed path, drawing on memories that he had buried long before. He was trapped in his past, and he could do nothing at all to escape it. He was forced to listen, feel, smell, and taste his childhood as though living it again, but he could do nothing to alter it. His body acted exactly as it had originally, regardless of his will.

"_Keisuke-chan!" _he heard, the gentle voice coaxing him forward.

"_Coming, Kaa-chan!"_ he heard himself say. He felt himself step unsteadily forward, feeling out his every movement. The scent of pine drifted into his nostrils. He was outside the house with his mother, practicing how to walk unassisted.

The sweetness of the scene was too much. Experiencing it made him want to cry, though his lack of eyes had never allowed him to cry once in his whole life. It pained him beyond measure, because he knew exactly what was to follow.

Keisuke felt his small boy's body collide with his mother's warm and caring embrace. He heard the congratulatory praise she gave him, and would have become physically sick if he had had possession of the body that moved and spoke for him.

"_Okay, Keisuke-chan," _his mother said, _"We're going to do it again. I'll wander a little farther this time. Are you ready?"_

"_Hai, Kaa-chan!"_

The adult trapped in the child's body reeled and struggled and fought as the woman went through the hide-and-seek routine over and over again with her child, as kind and loving as any mother might be. The dream was complete and unabbreviated, and the full length and detail enhanced his horror.

_You fool! _he cried silently. _You blind, accursed fool!_

The day went on as normally as it ever had in those times. After the practice, the young Keisuke followed his mother into the house, where she fed him lunch. From there, they played children's games on the floor of the living room until Keisuke's father returned from his doings in the village, and then Keisuke stayed in the kitchen, inhaling the wonderful scents as his mother prepared the evening meal. Then they ate the meal while young Keisuke listened to his parents exchange stories about how the day had been for them. The child beamed eyelessly with pride when his mother spoke about his accomplishments. The perfect ending to a perfect day.

Finally, Keisuke was put to bed, and the nightmare neared its climax.

The child heard the call of nature late in the night and, deciding to utilize his improved navigational ability rather than call for assistance, rose from his bed. He walked the unseen halls of his parents' house, successfully navigating to the toilet and doing his business without disturbing anyone. Proud of himself, he began to make the walk back.

The adult Keisuke wished he could cover his ears and avoid hearing the noise that marked the end of the perfect, cheerful era in his life.

A muffled yelp of pain escaped the door of his parent's bedroom as he passed it. The young Keisuke stopped walking, concerned. Had his father hurt himself climbing into bed? Quietly, he inched closer to the door, straining to hear better.

"N-no," came the hoarse voice of his father, "P-please s-s-stop..."

"_**Be silent, worm," **_commanded a deep, husky voice that the young Keisuke did not know and the adult Keisuke knew too well. **_"Though I feed on your suffering and revel in your pitiful pleas, the child must not know, yet. Only when he is older will he be capable of understanding what has truly happened here. Only then will he be able to feed me the suffering that I will be starved for when you are dead. Now, do not struggle. In the morning, you will not even remember..."_**

Indeed, the younger Keisuke did not at all understand what this thing in his parents' bedroom was, nor what it was doing to his father. He would go to the village elders the next morning with his curiosity, and their investigation would lead to his mother's flight. From that day on, his entire life would revolve around taking care of his afflicted father. He would not know the real truth of what he had heard here for many years to come.

But the Keisuke who was imprisoned inside him understood perfectly. The horror of it mangled his mind and seared his soul.

_Let me go!_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

He felt blessed air—real air, not the sickening dream air—rush into his lungs as he came out of his slumber. At long last, he was in control again. Greedily, he sucked in as much of the air as his diaphragm could manage, savoring its cool and refreshing taste.

"Welcome back to the living," spoke a man standing over him. Exercising his new freedom, Keisuke felt for the man's aura, identifying him by the familiar calm and practiced manner as well as his familiar voice.

"Kabuto," he said. Keisuke's voice was ragged. How long had it gone unused? How long had he been sleeping?

He felt the aura above him flush with pleasure.

"I am pleased to see that you remember me, Keisuke-san," said the evil medic. "Orochimaru-sama has asked that I continue with the medical tests today in his stead. He has exhausted his weakening body in traveling, and on top of that he must keep one of our associates constantly entertained—the man has quite a temper, you see... ah, of course not, you cannot see anything."

"That's a bad joke," Keisuke rasped. "The Sadist could come up with something much better."

_Haruka,_ he thought. _I'm sorry I took away your punching bag. But please, don't let these bastards keep me here. They're going to break my mind and body down ten times faster than you ever could dream of doing. Compared to them, you're an angel._

"'The Sadist', I'm afraid, will shortly be incapable of coming up with anything at all," replied Kabuto, "As will all of the allies who are coming for you. You need not worry yourself about being the victim of her cruel jokes any more."

Keisuke grimaced. "That's real comforting," he said.

"Really?" Kabuto asked, feigning surprise, "It was not meant to be. Well, on that note, I think we shall begin today's activities. To start off, I will need a sample of muscular tissue..."

OoOoOoOo End Chapter Two oOoOoOoO

**A/N: **Pretty short, but such is the way of early chapters. When the action kicks up, we'll see more length. Especially when I don't have physics to worry about.

Keep those helpful reviews coming! Informative feedback great story!


	4. C3: Friends to Enemies?

**A/N: **Yes, I realize I've been silent a long time. Like two weeks. I'm sad, too. It would really be cool if I didn't have any homework to worry about, but for the next few weeks there is no avoiding it. I'm sorry.

Well, here it is! It may not be as good as Synchronized sex, but it should be entertaining nonetheless...

**Chapter Three: Friends to Enemies?**

The morning brought bountiful golden light down into the travellers' camp. Birdsong rang out in the momentarily peaceful grove as prey animals began their foraging for the day and their predators stretched lazily in the early warmth, taking their time to enjoy the glory of the rising sun before beginning their work. The air was still, calm, and chill, as slow to awaken as the rest of the forest.

There was no sudden noise of activity to accompany the flood of light; the occupants of the camp had risen hours ago to begin the work of packing up, and they did their work in the manner of shinobi—quickly, silently, and effectively. The fire had been doused and the fire pit filled in and covered, looking as though it had never been there. Rations of food and water had been stowed in packs along with bedrolls, utensils, and tents. The travellers had only to take down the perimeter traps that they had set up before they were ready to proceed...

If one neglected the fact that there was still one young blond shinobi who had yet to haul himself out of dreamland.

Naruto slept in the final tent, wrestling with the last of his dreams. From the outside, he appeared to be having a minor nightmare; if he hadn't been securely tied into his sleeping roll with wire, his thrashing might have kicked out the tent spike that he was sleeping near. He made no vocal sound, however.

As the sun rose higher into the sky and more light brightened the tent, his nightmares seemed to ebb. His twitching ceased, his breathing became more regular, and his facial expression calmed. Then, at last, the light grew bright enough to free him from his dreams entirely. Soon after, his eyes fluttered open, allowing his bright blue irises to take in the world—the real world—gladly and with relief.

The blond stared up at the blandly-colored tent ceiling with no trace of the morning stupor that plagued many men. As soon as he was awake, he was alert, clinging to wakefulness like a life preserver in the middle of the great sea. He sucked air into his lungs deliberately and with force—the first act performed today on his own will rather than a demon's—and used the added oxygen to flex loose the wire that tied him. Free of these bonds, he slid quickly and happily out of the bedroll, then cheerfully worked the kinks out of his stiff muscles, making no secret of his gladness to be awake. As his mood brightened, the objects in the tent seemed to brighten as well. Whether this was the result of his psyche affecting his outlook or just the continuing brightening of the sunlight did not matter; Naruto's relief remained the same.

There was one thing in the tent with him, however, that was not affected by either Naruto's psyche or the sunlight. It sat sourly in the opposite corner of the tent from the blond, staring simultaneously at everything and at nothing. Its arms were bound tightly behind its back with loop upon loop of the strongest micro-fiber rope that the Country of Fire's top secret labs had to offer. The skin that it wore was pale and wasted, the result of many days of poor care. Its hair, once as black as the night itself, was now streaked with a number of gray hairs, product of malnutrition and high stress. It had deep, dark eyes with deep, dark rings around them, as though it hadn't slept at all since the journey began.

Once, it had been considered human. Now it was only a treacherous monster in the eyes of the world.

Once, it had had good friends. These were gone, now; it had cast them away in favor of power and vengeance.

The most remarkable thing about Uchiha Sasuke, however, was that he did not seem to care. In fact, one might assume that the former leaf genin was completely unaware of his situation or his surroundings, for all the attention he payed them. All throughout Naruto's awakening and dressing, he continued staring into whatever dark nothingness he saw where he should have seen the tent.

Then Naruto finished pulling on his black and orange jacket and pants, and attached his equipment. He did not yet have the green vest that identified him as a Chuunin—he had been promoted before leaving—but a temporary stamp had been applied to his identification card, and he tucked this safely away in an inner pocket, patting it lightly. Then he made ready to leave.

"All right," he said, "Another day's hard work, one step closer to the goal. Geez, it's bright out. How long did I sleep in?"

He cocked an ear towards the wall of the tent that had faced the camp fire and heard nothing. He shrugged.

"Well, too late to worry about it now. Just have to wait for Neji to come back..."

Naruto's words trailed off as he caught sight of his tent-mate for the first time that morning. He had been so glad to escape his nightmare that he had completely forgotten the nightmare that was rooming with him. The blond's cheerful mood dropped down again; since the Uchiha traitor could not be left alone, Naruto would have to wait until Neji returned before he could go. He was stuck in a tent with his oldest enemy. Even worse, his enemy had stopped staring at nothing and had turned his dangerous gaze on him.

The blond knew that glare. Something was up in that evil head. Almost wishing for a good argument to help pass the unhappy time, Naruto spoke first.

"What are you staring at, huh?" he asked, eyebrows narrowing. "Gonna try something, Sasuke? Think I'm weak enough this early in the morning that you can get away?"

"No," replied the dark-haired Uchiha, his voice dripping with acid sarcasm, "I'm thinking that you would be an ideal rape victim and that if I could get my hands free you wouldn't be wearing those pants right now."

Naruto balked at this response, falling onto his backside and crab-walking into the far tent wall at breakneck speed.

"Wha... wha...?!"

Sasuke's glare became even more angry as he said, "Idiot. You're lucky that you have that fox sealed up inside to think for you, or you wouldn't have lasted a week as a ninja."

This snapped Naruto out of his confused shock. It had been bad enough when he had been likened to Kyuubi, but _nobody_ got away with thinking that some monster fox was better than him. His own subconscious had that covered.

"You shut the hell up," he growled. "You're lucky that we need your sorry ass for this mission, or else I'd bash your face in all over again."

Sasuke smirked.

"Or rather," he said, "Let your pet kitsune bash my face in, right?"

Naruto fought down his fury. _I'm in control, _he thought. _I will NOT let him manipulate me into getting angry. We need him, or else we won't catch Orochimaru. We won't save Nii-chan._

"I was in control when you lost," he said. "And I'll be in control when I bring your bastard sensei's hidey-hole down around his ears. I'll be laughing at you then, and Keisuke will laugh with me..."

Sasuke's expression grew serious again, and he leaned back against the tent wall, returning to staring at nothing. Naruto stopped talking, wondering what was going on in his enemy's head now.

"Sasuke?"

"That's impossible," the dark-haired traitor said. "You don't know Orochimaru like I do. You haven't dealt with him long enough to know that to understand him is to realize that you understand nothing at all."

Leaning forward once more, looking at the ground before him, Sasuke appeared to be recalling dark facts. No fear showed on his pale face, but Naruto, looking at him, could see traces of jealousy mixed under a mask of respect for the sensei he remembered.

"What we see Orochimaru doing is a fraction of what he actually does. There's too much going on in his head and in other places that we don't know about. Not even I knew half of what he did while he was training me, and I don't think Kabuto knew much more than me."

Naruto listened with grave attentiveness. When Sasuke paused for breath, he interrupted.

"So, you're saying that the plan he gave you was only half the plan?" he asked. "What does that mean? Are you telling me that we're playing into his hands, now?"

"Probably."

"How do I know you're not leading us there yourself?"

Sasuke looked up to glare at him a moment.

"When Jiraiya left you at the mercy of your enemies, did you feel like helping him do his dirty work?"

Naruto hadn't expected this answer, and couldn't think up a quick rebuke; the argument made sense to him. Sasuke's gaze returned to the floor.

"You should also remember," he continued, "That Orochimaru is incredibly good at manipulating people, both physically and mentally. By the time this is over, some of your friends might not be your friends anymore."

Naruto's thoughts immediately went to Keisuke, who was the closest of his friends to Orochimaru at that moment. Was Sasuke implying...?

"Naruto!" came a commanding voice through the tent walls. "Are you awake yet?"

"Neji!" Naruto exclaimed, opening the flap to reveal the face of the team leader. "Finally! I thought I'd never get away from from this jerk."

Neji's face went from darkly serious to darkly sour. Clearly, he was not looking forward to his time with the traitor, either. Naruto almost sympathized with him—the group just didn't have room for two dark geniuses, after all. Neji controlled his own disgust, however, and said what he had come to say.

"Naruto," he said, "The last of the traps are being packed up. We will be on the move again soon, so get your pack together. Tell everyone to meet me at the western ridge, as we planned last night."

The blond already had most of his things packed up, and with a grab at a few stray items on the floor, he was finished. Grinning a you-can-count-on-me grin, he stood up and nodded at his team leader.

"Okay, Neji. Will you take long to meet us?" he asked.

Neji took a moment to glare at the prisoner, who was regarding them with apparent indifference. His mouth contorted into a deep frown.

"As soon as I have packed this tent and..." he seemed to have to struggle to overcome his dread of the concept, "... _discussed_ a few things with our guide, I will follow you. It should not take longer than ten minutes."

Naruto felt that it was best to get moving at this point. Not only did he have little desire to know how these two most unsociable of people—especially two who were captive and captor—would manage discuss anything in a plain, simple, and effective manner, but he also felt that Neji was quickly growing edgy and was anxious to get it over with. Therefore, he gave a simple nod and a grunt and pushed open the tent flap, heading out into the glorious sunshine.

Neji focused his white gaze on the Uchiha in the dark corner of the tent. Sasuke was staring blankly at the tent flap where Naruto had left. The Hyuuga genius pondered this with professional interest. Was the traitor formulating a plan of some kind? He thought for a long moment, but no brilliant ideas came to mind. Sighing mentally, Neji decided that it was time to get on with business as usual.

Not sparing any more energy than was necessary talking to the traitor, he said quite simply, "Out."

Sasuke did not immediately respond, but remained seated, his cold eyes gazing off into a reality that Neji could not see. Neji was at a loss as to what this meant. For the first two days of the journey, the Uchiha traitor had been just as difficult, but Neji knew that this had been simply to spite his captor. He had not had this vacant look now. Then again, Naruto had been the one to come out of the tent and then send Neji into it on both days, rather than having Neji come in and then Naruto out. Was Sasuke always like this just after the Jinchuuriki left?

Curious, but no less committed to duty, Neji repeated himself, more loudly this time. "Out, Uchiha."

Sasuke appeared to hear him, and rose to his feet slowly and quietly, keeping all his appendages where Neji could see them as a good prisoner should. He walked in front of the Hyuuga Jounin out of the tent. He remained silent and still even as Neji began taking down the final tent, though Neji watched him and his own work simultaneously with the Byakugan.

Later in the day, once they got moving, Sasuke would become as spiteful, sarcastic, and intolerable as ever. For now, though, he simply stood off to one side, behaving perfectly well. And Neji could see that, every now and then, he would work his mouthparts feverishly, as though trying to readjust his lower jaw.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Are you seriously concerned about that, Naruto-kun?" asked Haruka incredulously. She, Naruto, and Sakura were leaping through the trees, headed towards their rendezvous point with Shino. There was a fine, strong breeze this morning, and the three of them were running into it, causing Sakura's pink hair to constantly get into her eyes and Haruka's dark braid to snake and whip along through the air behind her.

Naruto considered. He didn't think his friend's will was weak, of course, but what Sasuke had said had some merit. Orochimaru had malevolent powers and tools of evil beyond those of a normal shinobi, and he also had the will to use them all. If anyone could break a person's mind apart and reassemble it to fit his own ends, it was either Orochimaru or Uchiha Itachi.

"You never know," Naruto said. "Three years ago, I never would have thought that Sasuke would have stooped so low, but look what happened there..." Ducking under a branch as he leaped to the next tree, he left his argument open-ended.

"Uchiha Sasuke didn't have an enraged woman waiting to kick the crap out of him if he got out of line," Haruka countered. There was no trace of Sadism in her, as appeared to be her new norm when talk turned to their mutual blind friend. She was completely serious about the whole matter... and probably the beating Keisuke would get, too.

On Haruka's other side, Sakura was oddly silent. She certainly agreed with the older woman's point. Had she broken Sasuke's jaw three years ago instead of only a few days ago, events might have been greatly altered. Keisuke—as unfortunate as he thought he was to have been partnered with Haruka—was very lucky to have a forceful teammate. Though the pink-haired kunoichi had decided not to let her mistakes haunt her, she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Haruka's indiscriminate aggressiveness.

"Besides," Haruka went on, "How much can Orochimaru possibly do? Keisuke can stand almost any physical pain, he wont be fooled by hearing illusions, and the fool can't be horrified by what he sees, because he can't see. He may be an idiot more often than not, but there's no hardship he can't handle, and there's no way that he would turn on us. A lot like you, Naruto-kun—you pick your friends very well."

Naruto smiled. He certainly did do that well, among other things.

"Yeah," he said, "You're probably right. Just Sasuke-teme trying to mess with my head again. When this is over, I'm going to break his nose. Let's see him try to do that when I'm too busy laughing my ass off at his nasally voice..."

That made Haruka crack a smile of her own. It was the kind of solution she herself would have come up with. As a sort of surrogate big sister, she felt proud of the blond youngster.

Sakura, meanwhile, fought negativity within herself, restoring the shinobi professionalism that had kept her going in her darkest hours all throughout her post-academy days. It helped, and soon she was able to force a smile for Naruto's humor, too. Yes, she was a ninja again; calm, collected, focused, and therefore useful to her teammates. No one would ever doubt _her_ loyalty to her friends.

Still, it would be nice if she could get a chance to splash some water in her face. She still hadn't quite gotten rid of the morning funk.

"Naruto, Haruka-san," she asked, "Can you go and meet Shino without me? There's something I want to take care of really fast."

Naruto looked over at her with a puzzled look. There was a residual strained look on his medical teammate's mien. Was something wrong? No, of course not; Sakura had grown out of keeping such problems from her teammates. If something was majorly wrong, she would have said something.

Flashing an assuring grin, he nodded. "No problem. Just meet us at the ridge when you're ready."

Haruka nodded her assent as well. "Don't get caught with your pants down."

_I'm not sure whether she meant that figuratively or literally, _Sakura thought as she broke formation. Deciding not to be bothered with it, she made her way off into thicker vegetation, where a stream flowed tranquilly down from the hills.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A shadowed figure, crouching high, high up in the canopy, watched as one of the three broke away from the others and deviated off towards a nearby stream. Its eyes flashed green in the little light that reached it.

"So, the medic," it said. The voice sounded androgynous; not terribly high or low, masculine or feminine, but somewhere in between. It was also calm and cool, showing a minimal amount of emotion. "Should we take her, or choose another? A medical ninja would have extensive knowledge of anatomy and physiology, and might detect me before I can properly ensure success."

Seemingly from nowhere, the voice of the shadowed one's companion came down to offer its own opinion.

"I don't see how she'd be able to stop you, even if she did pick up on it," it said. This voice was clearly male, and clearly annoyed to have to be kept waiting. "Hurry up and do it, already. The sooner we can get this done, the sooner we can go home and I can take you out for real."

The emerald eyes flashed again, angrily this time.

"I have told you, Hikaru," said the shadowed one, keeping its voice cool but unable to fully eliminate a dangerous acidic undertone, "That I have no interest whatsoever in the barbaric courtship that you are inclined to offer me. Our relationship to each other is comrade-to-comrade, and it will remain so."

"Oh, I don't think the same way you do," came the invisible one's reply. "I've seen you under that heavy cloak you're always hauling around. You wouldn't make an effort to keep yourself that pretty if you weren't interested."

"I assure you, you are in error. Speak no more of it now, or I will entrap you here until the mission is finished, and then I will turn you over to Kouhei for disciplinary action. We must complete our duty."

A sigh could be heard. "Yeah, sure..."

The shadow nodded. "Then, I will go. Watch and warn me if the others come back for her."

"All right, Ayaka-chan," assented the invisible man, "Leave it to me, and do your thing."

The figure shadowed in the high canopy moved, following silently after the pink-haired medic. It said nothing, made no preparations, and it did not act anxious or afraid. Its dark, heavy cloak masked its body, and its head was hooded, masking all its facial features except its glittering emerald-green eyes.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The cold water hit Sakura's face with a light sting. It certainly was chilled this early in the morning, especially with all that dense foliage shading it! Almost at once, she began to feel better and, rubbing it liberally into her skin and eyes, she used its refreshing nature to purge from her all signs of strain, heaviness, and morning funk.

So focused on cleansing herself, she took no notice of the creeping vines that advanced silently behind her. It was not until she rose back to her feet and promptly felt them pulled back out from under her that she was made aware of her peril. Falling flat on her back, Sakura tried to struggle back up, but the vines were swifter than she. They wrapped around her faster than she could get one foot flat, and she was bound completely in less than three seconds.

"What?" she asked, completely bewildered. No plant that she knew acted like this.

"Tangler vines," answered a voice behind her. At first, Sakura thought she was hearing Shino, until she realized that this voice was not as deep as his. "They are one of many exotic plants that my clan breeds. They live by trapping large prey with their incredible strength and speed, and then slowly leeching nutrient-rich blood from the prey until it dies."

Indeed, the vines possessed many sucker-like appendages upon them. Sakura would have yelled out in horror and disgust, but the deadly plant had already covered her mouth. She was completely at the mercy of this shinobi and the plants.

"You need not fear them," assured the cool voice. "They obey me, and I have commanded them not to feed from you. You will be more suitable for our purposes alive."

The shinobi approached her, and Sakura could now see the heavy, dark shroud that hid most of the features. The eyes were brilliant green, even more green than her own, and they regarded her without any expression—no compassion, no pity, no malice, and no satisfaction. Then the figure reached her and turned her over to lie on her front, where she could see nothing. Sakura felt the vines loosen a bit about her midsection, and then her captor's hand slide down her back.

_What? What is this ninja doing? _ She waited a moment, not knowing what to expect. She could feel nothing unusual besides the shinobi's hand.

Then, quite suddenly, she felt something cut into her back, near her spine. Sakura whimpered a bit through the vines covering her mouth. It was a small cut, but it hurt a lot! Why was this...?

The cloaked ninja watched calmly as the captive girl abruptly stopped struggling. Then she nodded, satisfied, and withdrew her hand. Standing up, she recalled the tangler vines. Still showing no emotion or sign of care, she observed as the body of the pink-haired girl stood up on its feet again, apparently unharmed.

"Whom do you serve, girl?" asked the ninja.

"You, of course, mistress Ayaka." The body of Sakura looked, acted, and sounded perfectly normal, as if nothing at all were wrong.

"Good," Ayaka said. "I had feared that you might have guessed the puppeteer plant's purpose and fought. The parasite cannot take control if the victim's will is fortified against it."

"Oh, is that so?" Sakura asked, sticking her tongue out in embarrassment. "Shows how prepared I was. You sure got me good, mistress!"

A high-pitched whistle sounded from above. "Nice, Ayaka-chan! Perfect execution as always!"

Ayaka turned her gaze upward, a menacing look apparent on her normally emotionless upper face.

"Hikaru," she said in a low warning tone, "If you continue to make this much noise, no matter how skilled you are at hiding, you will attract attention to us and possibly jeopardize our mission. Kouhei, and more importantly, our client, will not be pleased if that happens."

"Sheesh," grumbled the voice of the young man, "I was just offering her praise. You'd think a girl would appreciate a gesture like that..."

Hikaru leaped into the shadow of the thicket, and his stealth faded. A tall and handsome youth with short, straw-colored hair that lay flat and somewhat wispy atop his head, he held himself with an arrogant, assertive posture. His clothing was all brilliant white, consisting of long pants tucked into his sandals and a simple sleeveless shirt. He had even washed all of the color out of his headband, which he had tied proudly around his muscular right arm.

The headband bore the symbol of Kumogakure Village.

"Sorry, Ayaka-chan," he said, "You're right. We definitely want to succeed in this mission. We don't want Kouhei getting upset. He'll blow the whole forest down if we get him mad enough."

Ayaka's emerald eyes narrowed at her teammate. "You do not need to feign care for our third teammate's reaction. You have never cared. Both of us know that you are driven by personal reasons."

Hikaru laughed. "You know me far too well, Ayaka-chan. Of course, the real reason I'm here is for my personal vendetta. I've waited and trained two years for this opportunity! Why else would I be motivated?"

The white-clad shinobi's maliciously grinning gaze turned to Sakura, who stood watching all of this with a curious expression. Her mistress' teammate certainly was strange! Hikaru swaggered confidently up to her, and put a hand atop her pink-framed head.

"You'll bring her to me, won't you?" he asked. "The Hyuuga bitch..."

Hikaru didn't quite expect the reaction that he got. The medic employed her incredible strength in defense of her dignity, as she would have on any normal day. The white-clothed Cloud nin barely managed to avoid sailing into a nearby tree. Finally getting his feet on the ground after flipping over three times, he skidded to a dusty halt.

"I won't do a damned thing for you unless mistress Ayaka commands it, you pig! And don't call my friends names, or you'll regret it!"

Hikaru rubbed the imprint on his cheek, mumbling, "I think I'm regretting it already..."

"My servant," interrupted Ayaka quietly causing Sakura to immediately snap to attention, "I have a task for you that you must begin immediately."

"Hai, mistress Ayaka!"

OoOoOoOo Cliffhanger no Jutsu! End of Chapter Three oOoOoOoO

**A/N:** Hallelujah! I finally finished another chapter! And introduced a whole slew of new material with it, including a couple more OC's. I definitely have a direction for this story now, and it may involve one more pairing than I planned on. Don't you just love it when I do that?

Well, hopefully, I will be able to update much faster next time around. I've been busy, but my business is toning down, so we'll see what I can do with more time on my hands, huh? Be sure to look forward to it!


	5. C4: Storm Clouds

**A/N: ** I think I understand how Rock Lee does it. When I was on the leg press in the weight room today, I pushed it to the brink of what I thought was my limit, and when my whole body was telling me, "Stop, you freaking idiot!" I somehow willed my muscles to move again, and managed to complete that last repetition. If there really are those "Eight Celestial Gates" that Kakashi was talking about, I think I may have opened the "Initial Gate" right there. The aftermath kinda felt like it, too; I was drained to the point where I almost couldn't walk. Just some interesting experience I thought I'd share with you.

**Chapter Four: Storm Clouds**

"Ne, Neji-san," asked a cheerful Sakura, "Where are we going to camp tonight?"

It was a suitable question that the pink-haired medical ninja asked. The group was traveling through a mountainous region with almost no vegetation. Though the path that they followed was good, wide, and solid, it was bordered by a high cliff face on one side and by a sheer hundred-meter drop on the other. The view from where they were was incredible—the rice fields in the valleys below were astoundingly beautiful in the late afternoon sunlight—but camping here would not be wise, as any enemy that might be lurking nearby would have an equally incredible view of their exposed and vulnerable selves.

Neji himself was curious as to how this would end up. Their current location was on the southern borders of the Rice Field country, where the Hidden Village of Sound was supposed to be situated. Sasuke had told him that they would merely continue south along this border and not enter the country itself, but if there was no concealed locale in which to make camp for the night, then the team could easily be ambushed. There was every reason in the world to suspect a trap.

"Well, Uchiha?" he asked. "Where is it that you say we will spend the night?"

Sasuke's upper body was still tightly bound, and multiple heavy weights had been attached to his legs to prevent him from running anywhere fast. He regarded Neji with the arrogant and haughty glare that the Hyuuga Jounin had come to despise.

"Hmmph," he said, "If you had done your homework, Hyuuga, you wouldn't have to ask me that. Or was the map you were reading drawn by Naruto?"

"I heard that!" came a loud voice from below. Naruto had decided to train himself as he traveled by walking along the cliff face rather than on the path. He was not visible to the rest of the group, but his occasional yelling comments on the conversation above were solid proof that he was still alive and clinging to the vertical surface successfully with chakra at his feet. Hinata had joined him in this little exercise, though she did not comment much. Neji knew that she was probably too busy making sure that both she and the blond bombshell didn't splatter on the rocky ground below.

The sepia-haired Hyuuga genius was not happy with Sasuke's response, either. Fighting to prevent himself from doing something very un-Hyuuga-like, he fixed the traitor with as calm a glare as he could manage. Choosing his argument carefully, he sought to get around the cloud of arrogance.

"There could be any number of apparent safe areas to rest," he said, "But not all of them are certain to be truly safe. There could be traps that not even the Byakugan can detect, and the probability of an ambush in each of these areas is varied. Which of the areas do you know to be free of traps and an unlikely ambush site?"

"How do you know I won't purposefully lead you into an ambush, Hyuuga?" asked Sasuke, smirking.

Neji hated this game. The traitor didn't spare any opportunity to remind him that this all might very well be a trick. The Hyuuga genius knew that it was a ploy to make him confused and shake his resolve, throw him into mental turmoil and uncertainty. He wasn't going to fall for it. The Godaime Hokage had made the gamble for him; he would play Tsunade's hand to whatever end.

"Break his arm, Sakura!" called Naruto. Then some pebbles could be heard breaking off the cliff as he exclaimed, "Whoa! Almost lost it there..."

"N-Naruto-kun!" came the voice of Hinata, "Maybe we should take a break. If you're tired, you don't have to take such a risk..."

"Give him some lip service, Hinata!" called Kiba teasingly. Akamaru barked in amused agreement.

That had Haruka laughing and crowing, "Ha! That'll re-energize him!"

More pebbles could be heard falling before Naruto said, "Whoa! You'd better watch your own grip, too, Hinata! Maybe you ought to take a break..."

"Where?" Neji's voice phrased a command more than a question.

Sasuke seemed to be satisfied with the trouble he'd already caused and said, "There is a bridge leading over a waterfall in the mountains less than five kilometers from here. It deviates from our path a little, but there is a neutral village two kilometers past the other side. Is that safe enough for you?"

Neji nodded, saying, "Assuming you aren't lying, then yes, it is."

Naruto suddenly popped over the side of the cliff, a thin film of sweat glistening on his face. Hinata followed behind him, clearly relieved to be on horizontal ground after walking on vertical for so long.

"He's not lying," Naruto said. "I visited this village once while I was on my training journey. It was destroyed a few decades ago, so they took it off the map, but it got rebuilt not too long ago. Nobody's gotten around to re-mapping it yet."

Sakura looked at him, puzzled. "You went this close to Orochimaru's territory on your trip? Isn't that kind of like saying, 'Please, come kill me?'"

Naruto's head lowered to his chest and he stuck his hands in his pockets. Memories came back to him; he could remember a confrontation with some Sound nin near here, the aftermath of which had nearly cost the neglectful Ero-Sennin his life, and remember dragging the same Sannin to the hospital in this village.

"Not really," he said. "I came out of it okay. Though a certain Toad Summoner wasn't as lucky..."

"Keisuke was with you then, too," said Haruka, "Wasn't he?" Her silver eyes stared off into the direction of the village.

Naruto could remember; Keisuke had indeed been there with them. He also thought he understood what provoked this change of subject in his surrogate big sister. This village was where she and Keisuke had first encountered each other.

It wasn't good to be remembering that now, however. Haruka tended to get distant and quiet when such reminiscing about the blind man started. His name had become almost as much of a taboo to her as Sasuke's had been to him until recently. In this state, she was not Sadistic or playful or intense. This might have been less annoying, but Naruto found that it made him think about his own problems, which made everyone worry even more, which reduced overall team morale. It was time to change the subject.

"Hinata," he said, hating to resort to this but having no choice, "When we get to the village, do you want to uh... walk around with me? You know... without everyone else?"

Naruto got the intended reaction. Hinata went pink-faced, Sakura took on a look of pleased surprise, and Kiba's and—as hoped for—Haruka's faces lit up with smirks. Though he hadn't actually been planning on asking Hinata out for a walk, it was an opportunity to get Haruka back into her more cheerful attitude. Already, he could hear gears in her head turning over what silent and Sadistic role she might play on this outing that Naruto had suggested.

"'Walk around,' he says," said Kiba. "Of course, we all know he's got something else on his mind..."

"Possibly something very risque," said Haruka. "Something entertaining..."

All of this was according to plan, and Naruto was satisfied with the Sadist's return. However, he was totally unprepared for what came next. His invitation to the girl prompted an unforeseen reaction.

"Naruto," said Neji, his white eyes regarding the blond with a piercing, searching gaze, "What is it exactly that you planned on doing while out walking with Hinata-sama?"

Naruto stared at him, dumbfounded. _Oh, great, _he thought. _Who knew that Neji would play the role of overprotective sibling?_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The sun was on its way down from the sky when the company reached the bridge. Sasuke had indeed been correct, both in gaging the distance they would have to travel to reach it and in the fact that it led over a waterfall. What he hadn't said, though, was that in the pink and orange light of the sunset the waterfall was one of the most glorious sights that could be seen in the land.

"'Mazing!" Naruto remarked, gazing out over it. "I didn't come into the village this way last time around, so I never had this experience. It's really amazing." Hinata nodded and smiled prettily at it, causing Naruto to momentarily stare at her, trying to figure out which was prettier.

Kiba gave an approving whistle and Akamaru barked while wagging his tail happily. Apparently the dog did share some human sense of beauty.

"Yeah, I missed it, too," Haruka admitted as they started across the bridge. "There are things in nature you don't see everywhere, and I'm not talking about reproductive behaviors."

Shino, immune to the humor of such comments, merely gave a slight nod. He did spend an irregular (for him) time staring out at the inhumanly pretty sight.

Neji and Sasuke did not seem to notice; they had been busy trying to out-do each other for the last half hour. At first it had been a glaring contest, which had turned into an ignoring contest, which evolved into what Naruto called an "out-angsting competition," where each one bellyached about being stuck with the other. It was currently an odd version of tug-of-war; Neji had attached a length of rope to his captive and was using it to drag him along, but Sasuke was making an effort to make it as difficult as possible without looking like he cared, which he was very good at.

As they reached the end of the long bridge, however, Sakura's only comment was, "Neji-san, could we stop for a moment? I need a bathroom break."

"Heh, good idea," Naruto said. "I kinda need one, too."

Neji switched his focus away from hauling the Uchiha traitor as painfully as possible without looking like he cared (at which he was proving quite adept) to Sakura, and then to the surrounding area. There were many rocks and the waterfall, but few places where one could do his or her business in private. He looked at Sakura.

"Where can you go?" he asked. "It doesn't seem as though there is a suitable area."

Sakura pointed off to the side of the bridge. "The rocks crumble away into a depression there," she said. "There's a small cave. I saw it from the bridge."

Neji had seen it, too, and said, "It is also very wet down there. If you misstep, you could fall to your death from the slippery rocks, and you won't easily adhere to the wall with your chakra."

"Well," Sakura suggested, smiling cheerfully, "I could take someone with me, if it will make you more comfortable, Neji-san."

Neji considered. It sounded all right. Why, then, did he have a bad feeling about this?

"I suppose that would be adequate," he said, shrugging off his fears. Sakura nodded at him.

"Come on, Hinata," she said. "You wouldn't let me fall, even jokingly..."

"Hey, I'm not _that_ Sadistic," Haruka said. "At least not to most people..." she added under her breath.

So it was that Hinata followed after Sakura towards the cavern below. Both of them strolled up to the edge of the incline as though nothing was wrong, climbing cautiously as they would on any mission, completely trusting each other to catch her if she fell.

"Oi, Neji!" Naruto said, "Is there another place I can go, or am I waiting?"

"You could try that cliff-hanging stunt again," suggested Haruka, "And aim for a tree. I won't push you, since you have a date to get to later tonight."

Looking at her evil smile, Naruto fought the urge to grimace. Already he was having misgivings about "curing" her. He slowly began to back towards the cliff's edge, not wanting to be near her at that particular moment.

"Hehe," he laughed nervously. "Thanks, Haruka-nee-chan... I think..." He turned around and prepared to take to the cliff face, hoping there would be nobody watching from below.

"Wait, Naruto," came the quiet voice of Shino. "I will accompany you. Sakura was right to bring a companion in case of danger. Someone should offer the same to you."

_This is just getting more and more stupid,_ Naruto thought. _Nee-chan is on her embarrassment crusade again, Neji is trying too hard to protect Hinata from me, and now I suddenly need Shino to watch me while I take a leak. That's _really _how I wanted to spend my evening._

"Hmmph. Come on, then," he said.

Disappearing over the side and pumping chakra into his feet, he began to slowly walk down the cliff. He grumbled when he noticed Shino following silently behind him, but said nothing else. Proper urinal etiquette dictated that the rule was "don't speak unless spoken to, and even then, don't speak." Granted, it was the weirdest urinal he'd ever used, but the rule still held.

_I wonder if Shino would call me on that rule if I broke it, _he thought as he undid his zipper.

Then he saw something that made him feel somewhat more relieved.

"A cave opening," he said, re-zipping so that he wouldn't break the rule. If he went in there, there wouldn't be any danger of falling, and therefore he wouldn't need Shino. Walking down to the mouth of the cavern, he gripped its edge and flipped inside. Then he started to unzip again, thinking he was safe.

He was dismayed when Shino followed him.

"What the hell?" he said. "Shino! It's perfectly flat in here. I don't need your help anymore."

Shino's eyebrows narrowed. Naruto sighed. What the heck was it now?

"I offered to watch over you in case you fell," he said. "Can you not return the favor and allow me to share the safety of this place? That is proper conduct between friends, and especially teammates."

"Gah, have it your way," Naruto said, exasperated. Resigned to his fate, he turned away from Shino, preparing to do his business in what little privacy he had left.

"And also..."

"What is it now, Shino?"

The heavily-veiled bug user was looking around the place. It appeared that something was not right to him.

"This cavern is strange," he said. "It appears to have been formed in the natural way, by water erosion. There are natural stalactites and stalagmites within it, and the interior is moist and cool."

"So what's the problem," Naruto asked, eyes focused entirely upon his work.

"There are suspicious elements within it. The surfaces of the rock formations are not entirely smooth, as the results of natural erosion should be. There is no water at all flowing through the cavern now, though it is in very close proximity to a large waterfall, which presumably created the cavern itself. And the formations on the floor of the cave are spaced widely apart, so much so that two people could walk comfortably abreast."

Naruto finished his business and zipped up. When he turned to face Shino, comprehension was showing in his blue eyes.

"So, you're saying that this cave might have been man-made?"

"That is exactly what I was going to suggest. And if it were made by people, why would they go to the trouble to make it look natural?"

"Definitely not for tourists," Naruto said. "It's definitely not safe just leaving it open to a cliff like that."

"Agreed," said Shino. "Which makes it likely that it was constructed by shinobi—possibly enemy shinobi."

"That's not good," Naruto said. "What if the cave that Sakura and Hinata went into was the same kind of cave?"

"I think," said Shino, "That this may be the same cave. If they are shinobi, then they can launch an ambush from the waterfall and escape out this way, down the cliff."

Naruto's eyes widened. "So it was made as a trap. But was it a trap for us, or somebody else?"

"We cannot know," said Shino. "But I suggest that we explore this cavern further before we return to the others. It could lead nowhere, of course..."

"But it might lead to Hinata and Sakura," Naruto finished. "Let's go!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hinata was getting a little confused. She and Sakura had gone quite far into the cave. They had passed a number of twists and turns, and the entrance was no longer anywhere in sight. Yet Sakura had yet to stop walking.

"Ano, Sakura-chan?" she asked.

"What is it, Hinata-chan?" Sakura's face showed cheerfulness as well as wonder at Hinata's question. There was nothing malicious on her mien or in her movements, but something just didn't feel right to the Hyuuga girl.

"Haven't we gone a bit far into the cave?" Hinata asked her. "I'm sure nobody could see us down here..."

"Nobody normal, that's for sure," Sakura agreed. "But you need to remember that Naruto spent three years with Jiraiya-sama, who is well-known for having loose morals. For all we know, he might have followed us down here."

Now that, Hinata would have said, was a silly idea. Naruto was not his sensei; he could resist his own impulses. That, or Neji and the others would stop him, though Hinata would like to think that it wouldn't have come to that. This is what Hinata would have said, in a nutshell.

But when the immense jaw-like leaves of the trap below burst out from the rock below and snapped shut, trapping her from the waist down, all that Hinata could say was, "What?"

"Thank you for bringing Hyuuga-san to us, Sakura-san," came a calm and cool voice from behind her. "You have served me well."

Craning her neck, Hinata caught sight of a figure in a heavy, dark cloak and hood. From beneath the cloak, creeping along the ground from the base of the figure's feet, were the roots of the gigantic trap plant which now held her captive.

"Thank you, mistress Ayaka," came the voice of Sakura. Hinata whipped her head around. Her friend was kneeling on the rock floor in subservience!

"Sakura-chan?" she said, "What is going on?"

Sakura looked up. There was sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, I really am. But I can't go against my mistress, and she ordered me to separate you from the others. Believe me, I would never have done it if mistress hadn't willed it!"

Hinata's Byakugan snapped on. She looked at and through Sakura, thinking that it might be a disguise.

"I assure you, your friend is herself, Hyuuga-san," said the cloaked ninja, Ayaka. "There is no trick. She is Haruno Sakura exactly as you know her. The only difference is that she cannot disobey my commands. My puppeteer plant dominates her will."

"Puppeteer plant?" Hinata asked. She scanned the person before her, which was indeed her friend, Sakura, searching for it.

"Yes," said Ayaka. "It is a parasite that attaches itself to the central nervous system, which allows it to subtly govern its host's will. Normally, the influence is small, as the plant will only direct its host to find nourishment for it periodically. But my plants obey me and me only; I command the puppeteer plant, which in turn commands the host to do my bidding."

_The central nervous system, _Hinata thought. She directed her superior sight towards Sakura's spinal column and brain. Sure enough, halfway up the girl's back, there was a plant resembling a patch of moss rooted there. There were small tendrils entwined with the nerve tissue leading up to the brain.

"What will you do with me?" asked Hinata.

"We—my comrades and I—will take you back to our village," Ayaka explained. "Our leaders have greatly desired the capture of a Hyuuga for many years. It is hoped that the secrets of your bloodline limit doujutsu will be revealed."

"For many years," Hinata repeated quietly. Her face fell in realization. "Kumogakure no Sato... the Village Hidden in the Clouds."

The enemy, Ayaka, did not appear to hear her. Instead, she began running vines out from beneath her cloak, which wrapped about Hinata's upper body, binding her tightly. Then, with a quick seal, she dispelled the summoned trap plant. Sakura rose to her feet, helping Hinata up after she had fallen to the floor.

"I'm really sorry," she said. "If I could, I would bring you back to Naruto and the others right away..."

"You don't have to worry about that, Sakura!" echoed a loud voice from deep within the cave. "I'm here to do it for you!"

Hinata's eyes brightened in recognition. "Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto..." said Sakura. She was confused; she knew she should feel happy, but what if mistress Ayaka ordered her to attack her teammate? She wouldn't be able to resist the order, and then she might hurt one of her friends.

Ayaka's emerald eyes narrowed from beneath the concealment of her hood. This would never do; the obstacle would have to be disposed of immediately. Working a set of seals, she focused her chakra into some of the many, many seeds that she carried in a pouch at her waist.

Naruto appeared from around a bend in the cave, running full-speed towards them. From the base of his spine, nine thick appendages made up of blazing blue chakra sprouted like tails. Hinata and Sakura recognized it as the **Tomoshibi no Kyuubi, **(Nine Tails of Light) one of Naruto's Rokujuuyon Reiude jutsus. They lit the cave around the blond ninja as he came barreling straight at them.

Ayaka was more than prepared for a head-on attack. The seeds which she empowered sprouted, rooting in the soil stored in her cloak and grew rapidly, forming into beautiful flowers with dark red petals. However, these were no lovely roses; each bloom possessed four long needles in its center. These needles were launched in a deadly barrage at the oncoming Naruto.

Hinata cried out in horror as the needles whizzed over the heads and to the sides of her and Sakura, striking Naruto in numerous places and sticking painfully in his skin. Ayaka stepped forward, moving past her unwilling servant and captive to examine her victim.

"Those needles are filled with a deadly poison," she said, voice as cool as ice. "A single one can kill in as little as thirty seconds. You were hit by approximately fourteen of them; you should be dead within seconds. It is regrettable, but I cannot allow you to live, knowing what has transpired; our village does not desire to enter the war yet, and would be forced to prematurely if the Leaf knew that we had stolen a member of one of their precious kekkai genkai clans."

Naruto was indeed breathing heavily, and his eyelids were having trouble staying open. But he still managed to look up at his killer with a goofy smile on his face.

"No... I'm the one who's sorry for you," he said. Before anyone could ask him what he meant, he vanished in a puff of smoke. Ayaka, though she remained as collected as ever, remained staring at the spot where he had been.

"Kage Bunshin?" she asked the empty air. Behind her, Hinata sighed in relief.

Then, the ground below burst open for a second time as another Naruto came up through it, flinging a kunai at Ayaka's back. The cloaked kunoichi whipped around, knocking the speeding knife aside with the whip of a concealed vine. Simultaneously, she also brought her hands together in a quick seal, concentrating her chakra to command the deadly flowers to fire again.

But the plants did not launch more needles. Using the light of Naruto's tails, her emerald eyes could see that they were not disobeying her; they were besieged. A swarm of insects had gone to work on them the moment Naruto had erupted from the ground. They ate away at the plants until they crumpled to the floor of the cavern, totally useless.

"Kikai bugs," Ayaka said, recognizing them. "The insects used by the Aburame Clan. So you did not come alone."

"No," said Shino, climbing out of Naruto's hole, "He did not."

"We heard almost everything," Naruto said, "About your plan. I'm tellin' you, you'd better back off right now. Hinata isn't going anywhere except with us."

Ayaka's brilliant green eyes flashed. "I disagree. Sakura, take Hyuuga-san and follow me."

"Hai, mistress Ayaka!" said Sakura, moving instantly to obey. The two of them dashed off with Hinata back down the way Naruto and Shino had come.

"What the...!" Naruto started, but Shino stopped him.

"Sakura is being controlled by the enemy," he said. "My bugs were hearing her before you. We must follow them quickly!"

Amazed, but nevertheless concerned over his friends, Naruto hastily agreed and started after the enemy with Shino at his side. The bugs left their meal and followed along as well.

The enemy was quick, but Naruto and Shino did not have heavy soil-laden cloaks or struggling prisoners to slow them, and quickly caught up. They were only meters away when Sakura passed Hinata off to Ayaka, who lashed the prisoner to her back. Turning around and pulling a glove on her right hand, Sakura made a fist. Naruto knew what was going to happen next, and cried out.

"Shino! Jump! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

Naruto and Shino's feet left the ground just as Sakura's chakra-enhanced punch slammed into it, causing it to quake and rumble madly. Naruto had been prepared, however; his shadow clones grabbed hold of his and Shino's arms, flinging them across the fractured and dangerous rock right towards Sakura.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, "Stop, or I'm going to have to kill you! The mistress said so!"

"I can't stop!" Naruto yelled back. "Hinata's in trouble! Don't make me hurt you, Sakura!"

Shino took a more practical approach than yelling; he sent his insects swarming towards Sakura. The pink-haired medic thrashed and slapped at them as they went down her back, seeking the abnormalty that was controlling their friend.

"Shino, what are you doing?" Naruto cried, watching. "You're not going to hurt her, are you?"

"No," Shino said. "Watch."

And sure enough, only seconds later, the bugs found the puppeteer plant. With the haste of the hungry swarm, they laid waste to it, and then Sakura stopped struggling against the bugs. Instead, she herself reached down her back, pulling out the moss-like monstrosity.

"Yeach!" she said, tossing it to the ground and grinding it under her foot. "That's a nasty trick. I can't believe I let her put that on me! 'Mistress,' my ass!"

"Sakura!" Naruto said, face bright with relief. "You're yourself again?"

Sakura was indeed herself... and she was pissed.

"Naruto! Shino-san! We're going to find this Ayaka and kick her ass!"

"Do not forget," said Shino, "To rescue Hinata before you do that."

"Got it covered, Shino," said Naruto. "Let's get going!"

They took off running down the tunnel-like cave again, sprinting with all speed to make up for the time they had lost freeing Sakura. A long series of twists and turns yielded nothing. After less than a minute, however, they caught sight of a cloak flapping in motion-made wind; they were catching up! Increasing his speed, Naruto pulled ahead of the other two, all tails blazing, and raced to get to Hinata's kidnapper.

"Naruto-kun!" cried the bound Hinata as she caught sight of him. This warned Ayaka, who promptly pulled out more seeds and, working her seals, brought them to instantaneous life. A thick barrier of some woody plant sprung into being, blocking the cavern with interlocking shoots.

"That's not good enough!" Naruto roared. Bringing up one hand, he started swirling chakra rapidly in his palm. In less than a second, it took the form of compact spiraling sphere of deadly chakra. This sphere he held out before him as he plunged into the barrier.

"**Rasengan!"**

The sphere's incredible power blew the shoots to pieces, clearing the path. Increasing his speed even more, Naruto blew through the destroyed barrier like a bullet, gaining on Ayaka and Hinata with every passing moment, though by now he had left Sakura and Shino behind.

Ayaka, hearing the noise of her barrier breaking, did not stop. She pulled out yet another set of seeds, rooting them into her cloak, and growing them with the same incredible speed as before, all while still running. The dark red needle-flowers took shape once again, aiming death at their mistress' blond pursuer.

Naruto, having seen this maneuver once already, knew what to do. Calling on his training, he formed a series of quick and precise hand-seals, bringing the chakra out into the air around him, influencing its movements.

"**Fuuton: Kamisori Kabe no Jutsu!"**

Winds of incredible intensity kicked up all around Naruto, slicing everything in his immediate vicinity, including the nearby stalactites and stalagmites, which splintered into rock shards that flew everywhere about the cavern. When the flowers launched their poisoned needles, every single one of them was either sliced apart or blown off-course, sticking into the cavern walls.

"You are persistent," said the plant user from ahead of him, still running with all the speed she could muster. "I will give you credit for that. However, the chase is at its end now."

When she had finished speaking, Naruto saw that she was right; the tunnel exit loomed in front of them, the bright light of the sun visible through it. One way or the other, the end was very near.

"Yeah, it's gonna end," he said, "And I'm gonna win! Hang on, Hinata!"

"Naruto-kun!"

Suddenly, Hinata surpassed Ayaka's expectations. Little had anyone known, the girl had been exercising her precise chakra control to slowly saw away at her bonds. One vine parted, loosening the others, which led to another being parted, and so on, until the girl came completely untied and rolled off of Ayaka's back onto the ground.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," she said, rising to the ground to stand before him, "But I would rather not hang onto her any longer."

Naruto smiled. "Thatta girl! Way to go, Hinata!"

Then the smile was wiped off of his face as a flash of light filled the cavern. When it faded, Naruto was lying on the ground five feet from where he'd been standing, his lip bloody. Where he had been standing now stood another young man, dressed in all white.

"What are you smiling at, punk?" asked the newcomer. "I don't see what's so great about the Hyuuga filth."

Naruto picked himself up off the ground, glaring at him. He was mad as hell; first the plant user woman and now this obnoxious brat? Who was he, calling him a punk and Hinata filth?

"Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"Yeah, like you really deserve to know my real name," said the white-clad shinobi. "Do you know what an honor you've been given to even see me, the rising star of the Village Hidden in the Clouds, master of the Five Lightnings, the Shinobi-Who-Hides-In-Light? Scum like you can't even fathom how lucky you are even to be alive."

"You're right," Naruto said. "But I can definitely understand, just from looking at you, that you're even more of an overconfident and obnoxious prick than I am!"

The arrogance in the newcomer's face turned to rage. His pale skin became red with anger, and it seemed to make his straw-colored hair turn orange.

"What did you say? You wanna try and prove something, you bastard?"

"Hikaru," said Ayaka, "If you are quite done babbling, would you please recapture the Hyuuga so that we may escape?"

"No way!" Hikaru said. "Not until I kill this bastard! He insulted the wrong superninja!"

"Try it!" Naruto said, reaching towards Hinata with the arms of his Reiude. "Hinata and I will beat you to a pulp in no time at all!"

The synchronization jutsu took effect, and Hinata felt power rush into her, emboldening her. Byakugan burning with white intensity, she brushed tangled blue hair out of her face and sank into her Jyuuken stance, ready to fight.

"You will not hurt Naruto-kun," she said, "And I won't be taken against my will."

"That's right!" yelled Sakura. "We'll fight to the death to keep her out of your hands. We're her friends, you jerks, and no damned plant is going to change that!" She and Shino took up positions behind Naruto and Hinata. Sakura reached into her weapon pouch, and Shino raised his arms, bringing forth his deadly bugs.

"Heh," Hikaru said, "You guys don't have a chance. I've grown ten times stronger since the exam! I'll rip you apa...!"

"Hikaru!" snapped Ayaka, "Stop. We're retreating."

The boy's mouth fell open in disbelief. "But... but, Ayaka-chan, they're right in front of us, totally in our power..."

"The sun is setting, Hikaru," she said. "You will soon have no light in which to hide, and your ability is much diminished without that power. As for myself, the Aburame's insects have shown an incredible ability to counter my own powers. Against him alone, I might win, but against him and all these, I will not be effective enough. We will retreat."

The straw-haired youth seemed torn for a moment, then growled in defeat.

"Fine," he said. "But you bastards haven't seen the last of us. Everywhere you go, we'll be dogging your steps, just waiting for you to make a wrong move. And when you make that move, the Hyuuga bitch is ours. Remember that!" On his last words, the two enemy shinobi leaped out of the cave entrance.

"Oi!" Naruto yelled, "Get back here, you cowards!"

Shino stepped forwards, sending his bugs after them in an attempt to intercept. If he could capture one or both of them...

The woman, Ayaka, leaped off of the vertical cliff surface, growing a large, sickly purple flower. It bloomed and released a thick cloud of gas at the oncoming swarm. Many of the bugs began dying, falling from the sky at the merest touch of it. Shino was forced to recall them before he lost too many.

The hood of Ayaka's cloak whipped off her head in the wind, revealing her face. Other than her emerald eyes, her features included a slender jaw, a small, unsmiling mouth, and sleek, oak-colored hair that fell to her shoulders. The face betrayed no emotion at all as it stared up at the bug user.

"Your power is impressive, Aburame," she said. "I hope one day to fight you on a more level playing field."

Working her hand seals for a final time, she grew a set of enormous leaves. Lashing them together and tying herself to them with her vines, she created an organic parachute. On these leafy wings, she glided away into the waning sunlight as her teammate ran speedily down the cliff face, finally leaping into a nearby tree and disappearing into the twilight.

OoOoOoOo End Chapter Four oOoOoOoO

**A/N: **I write too damned much for my own good. This was supposed to be just part of one chapter, but I ended up extending it into a whole chapter. You guys are lucky to have all this extra material, I swear...

Next chapter: The questions on everybody's mind are... Who the hell were those guys? What is the Cloud's proposed involvement in the war? Will Naruto really take Hinata on that date? If yes, what will Haruka do to them?

The answers will be given after...

CLIFFHANGER NO JUTSU!


	6. C5: War Changes Everything

**A/N: **Wonderful reviews, all of you. Again, please let me know if there is anything missing that I ought to include in the story. This huge ninja war is a great opportunity for all kinds of hubbub to break out, so don't be shy about making any requests.

I'm coming up on the end of school for a while, which means I'll have the opportunity to devote much, much more time to this story and finally get it all finished. After which, I have no idea what I will be using my talents for. I suppose I'll figure it out in my spare time on the ship.

**Chapter Five: War Changes Everything**

The last slivers of the sun finally disappeared beyond the horizon, plunging the mountains into twilight. A few glittering stars began to make themselves seen above the icy caps of the tallest ones, just out of reach of the dimming pink, red, and orange auras that followed behind the retreating star of day. Viewed from the high vantage of the cliff, it was typical of the sunset in this region, but to outsiders such as those that emerged from the shinobi-made cavern, it was as much a sight for sore eyes as the waterfall had been.

Or rather, it would have been if any of them had been paying attention to it.

"Tell me exactly what happened," said Neji, observing the roughed-up state of the four that came together.

"What happened was that our mission just got about twice as complicated," Naruto growled. He was clearly not happy that the enemy had escaped. The blond could practically hear Kyuubi laughing already. Seeming to sense the self-conflict coming on, Hinata stepped near to him and put her hand on the back of his arm, trying to soothe him as she spoke her part.

"I was attacked, Neji nii-san," she said. Whether Naruto was simply glad that someone else had taken up the burden of explaining or there was simply some kind of magic in Hinata's touch, the boy seemed to calm down inside himself. He gave a nod and a grunt to accompany her words.

Haruka, meanwhile, made a rather guttural, disappointed noise. "Damn, I missed a fight? Should have gone ahead with the plan after all..."

Neji frowned at her remark, not wanting to ask what it was she had been planning to do to four vulnerable teenagers in a cave, but did not choose to reprimand her. "You, specifically, Hinata-sama? Or was it all of you collectively?"

"No, I was their target. Sakura-chan was part of the attacking force... no, not willingly, Neji nii-san!" she clarified, seeing his raised eyebrow. "She was being controlled by the enemy. She never would have done such a thing on her own will."

"That's right," said Sakura, incensed at the memory of the emotionless "mistress." In a grumbling undertone, she added, "And she's going to pay for that, later..."

"Go on," Neji said, choosing not to ask questions just yet. Hinata nodded, relieved.

"Naruto-kun and Shino-kun stopped the enemy and freed Sakura-chan. They acted _very_ effectively, as shinobi should have," she said, emphasizing her approval to help futher soothe the boy. Neji noted that Naruto found some sense of pride again, managing to grin a little.

"All right," he asked, "Who were the attackers? Did you recognize any of them?"

Shino volunteered, and began describing Hinata's would-be captors in as much detail as words would allow. He identified at least one of them as a shinobi of the Cloud village, judging from the male's headband, and suggested, based on the way they interacted with and related to each other, that the other one was likely from that village as well. The bug user made it a point to cover everything from the style of ninjutsu they used to the color of their eyes, before affirming that he had never before encountered either one of them.

Hinata, however, said, "Neji nii-san, I'm not sure, but I think maybe... I've seen one of them before. At the Chuunin examination two years ago..."

The eyes of several shinobi around her widened.

"Are you sure?" asked Sakura. "I don't remember him. Was he one of those that dropped out of the test early?"

Hinata shook her head. "No. I fought him, at the end..."

"What, that scrawny hot-head?" Kiba piped up. "He didn't look anything like the guy Shino just described."

"I agree," said Shino. "And my bugs could not recognize his chakra or his scent, either. Hinata, are you certain that it was the same person?"

"No," Hinata said, "I'm not completely sure. But the way he looked at me, and his attitude..."

"I think I understand," interrupted Naruto. "He looked like he wanted to get back at you for something, big time. Hinata, you must have beaten him good in the test."

"Yeah, she won that fight," Kiba said, "But it doesn't explain how even Shino's bugs don't recognize him."

It was quiet for several moments. Everyone was wracking their brains for some kind of explanation. However, the one who was least likely to care about the whole situation turned out to be the one who had the answer.

"Revenge," said Sasuke, sitting on the rock and looking off into the twilight. "The desire for revenge and the kind of power that an avenger looks for. They can change a person beyond all recognition. I'm living proof."

Another silence stole over the group as this sank in. Haruka broke it.

"Are you sure?" she said. "Even if you beat him in the fight, Hinata-chan, that probably isn't enough motivation to make him devote his life to taking you down. Not even _I'm_ that much of a sore loser."

"Unless," Naruto said, "That wasn't his only reason. Sasuke-teme didn't decide to take off until _after_ I'd beaten his sorry ass once. It might not have been the only reason, but Hinata beating this bastard could have been the straw that broke his back. You know what I'm saying?"

"It doesn't matter," said Neji. "The question of exactly who they are can wait. For now, it is enough that we know that they are probably from Kumogakure no Sato. What we want to know is why they are after Hinata-sama now, and how they knew where to find her. If they are in league with the Rock and the Sound..."

"That's no good!" Kiba said.

"Definitely not," agreed Sakura. "Leaf and Sand can win against the forces they face now, but if they have to fight the Cloud, too, winning will be a lot tougher than before."

"And let's not forget," Haruka added, "That the traitor here told us that Orochimaru was planning to bring the Mist in on his side..."

Haruka stopped speaking. Nobody was paying attention to her. Instead, their eyes were fixed on Naruto. The blond had left Hinata's side and grabbed Sasuke by the collar. Hot anger was in his face, and the dark-haired traitor met it with a cold glare. In between, the air seemed infinitely heavy.

"You," Naruto growled. "If you know something you're not telling us... spit it out now! We don't have time to play Orochimaru's game!"

"Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto, stop it! This isn't..."

Naruto heard neither Hinata nor Sakura. He shook the prisoner violently, threatening to come to blows. Neji, both sick of letting Sasuke strut around like a prince in his chains and hoping that this more direct method of interrogation would bear some fruit, did nothing to stop him.

"Well?" said Naruto, lifting Sasuke into the air. "Nothing you wanna say? I can smack it out of you, if you like."

Sasuke kept right on glaring at him. "Idiot. I don't know."

This was not the answer that Naruto wanted to hear. The balance of power could be tipping drastically in favor of Orochimaru and his allies, and Konoha would have no warning at all! Even in the face of all this, all that the Sharingan-toting prick had to say was, "I don't know?" The bastard had lived under Orochimaru's roof for three freaking years! Making one fist, he prepared to give the Uchiha another broken jaw.

But a hand caught his arm on the backswing, preventing him. Turning his head, Naruto saw Haruka there.

"Naruto-kun," said the older Hyuuga, "I understand how badly you want to hit him. To have been part of a team with a bastard like him, and have it come to this, I'd deck him, too. But it's not going to make him talk, even if he does know something. Let him go for now. There will be other ways of finding out what's going on."

The blond stared at her, seemingly torn, for a long moment. However, his better judgment won in the end, and he dropped Sasuke unceremoniously to the ground.

"Damn it," he muttered. Hinata approached him cautiously, not sure how to calm him.

The sudden howl of a wolf came reverberating up from the forestland below the cliff. In answer, Akamaru turned and barked fiercely over the cliff's edge, warning the animals that any hostile beast would have to answer to him before it could attack his master or his master's friends. The shinobi heard the exchange and were instantly aware that night was upon them.

"We need to find this village," Neji said. "Get up, Uchiha. Take us the rest of the way there."

"Yeah, that's right," Kiba said. "Hinata's got a date to get to, after all..."

"K-Kiba-kun..."

"Ehehe..." Naruto laughed nervously. He definitely did not like the look on Haruka's face right now.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The village was much changed from the town that Naruto and Haruka remembered. When they had visited it before, it had been bordered by a forest, by lifeless rock formations, and by the cliffs. This time, it had walls and barricades surrounding it. These were manned by numerous patrols of soldiers bearing an emblem that nobody in the group could recognize.

"Were they taken over by a group of bandits?" wondered Naruto.

"No," said Haruka. "Those are probably hired mercenaries. When I was living here, the old folks told me that this village has always hired soldiers and declared complete neutrality when wars started up. They don't trust the big nations for protection."

"Being so near the border of two of those nations, I can see why," said Sakura. "They'd be so close to the fighting that the moment they took a side, they'd start being captured and liberated over and over until there was nothing left."

"It's understandable, certainly," agreed Neji. "But it may not be good for us. We're on the side of a major superpower in this war, and they may think we are here to conduct espionage, if not to take military action."

"Really?" Naruto asked. "That doesn't seem right. When I was here, they were really nice, trusting people."

"Yeah, well... war changes us all," remarked Kiba. "You gotta have a lot of guts just to stay sane, sometimes. That's what all the veterans I've talked to say, anyway. I've never been in a major war before."

"So, how are we going to get in, if they won't allow foreign military?" asked Sakura.

"There are a few options for us," said Shino. "As shinobi, we might easily sneak inside unnoticed."

"Yeah, but then it would be hard to find a place to stay," Haruka commented. "The civvies are probably as alert as the guards are. The moment they see those headbands, someone will report you to the mercenaries, and then you'll be out on your asses in no time at all."

"Um... we could disguise ourselves as nonmilitary travelers," suggested Hinata. "The guard forces aren't on the lookout for those, are they?"

"They might be, or they might not," said Shino. "If they are, then we will be turned away, and the guards will be on the lookout for us."

"It's still a good idea, though," put in Naruto. "If it does work, we'll have no problems at all. Besides, Haruka nee-chan's lived here before; if she's with us, then it shouldn't be that hard, right?"

"Not necessarily," said Neji. "The mercenaries would not recognize her, since they are not native to this area."

A lengthy silence ensued in which deep thoughts yielded little to no progress until, at last, Shino had a stroke of brilliance.

"That might actually work in our favor," he said.

Neji perked up from his own thoughts. "What do you mean?"

Pushing his sunglasses further up on his nose, Shino explained his strategy. "The guards will not recognize her, but the civilians will. If we sneak in stealthily, and disguise ourselves as ordinary travelers, Haruka's familiarity in the area will be noted among the civilians. The guards may be suspicious at first, but they will not question us once they see that the locals interact with us in a friendly manner. Since they are not locals and would not be able to know every civilian member of this town, they will likely believe that _we_ are locals."

"That's a good plan," Neji conceded. "If we can manage to control Uchiha..."

"Let me handle that." said Naruto. "I promise I won't kill him."

Neji looked at him for a long moment, as though judging his sincerity. However, he appeared to be satisfied, and gave a nod.

"Okay," he said. "Let's get moving."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Phew!" Naruto said as he slid the heavy pack down onto the bed. He appeared to be garbed in plain blue pants and a plain white tee-shirt, and the Henge kept his hitai-ate and ninja tools concealed. The disguises had gotten him and the others safely through town virtually unnoticed, and Haruka's familiarity with the local innkeeper had allowed them to rent three rooms for the night. The two-bed room that Naruto would be sharing with Sasuke and Neji was clean and accommodating; much better than the tents.

The only negative point that Naruto could foresee was his two roommates. Neither of them were very good company when thrown together. Sighing, he unzipped the pack that he had just unshouldered. The taped face of Uchiha Sasuke glared up at him scathingly. Clearly, he had not enjoyed his ride into town.

"Didn't think you'd like it," Naruto said. "If I were the one who got his tenketsus all closed by Hinata, tied up with fifty feet of titanium wire, had tape put over his mouth, stuck into a big sack, and made to ride piggyback all the way here, I sure wouldn't be in a good mood. I guess it pays not to run away from your friends to evil bastards like Orochimaru, huh?"

Sasuke's glare only intensified, signaling to Naruto that he'd struck a chord. Normally, Naruto would love to try to give the guy an enormous guilt trip before turning in for the night. He left the mental battle hanging there, though, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He was still trying to make sense of everything else that was going on.

_Geez, _he thought to himself. _It's getting totally out of hand again. Keisuke and Ero-sennin still missing, Haruka starting to get gloomy again, Sasuke not helping, the whole freaking world at each other's throats, and now this thing with the Cloud and Hinata. Not to mention..._his hand clutched his navel... _my little night terrors. How bad is it going to get before it gets good?_

"Naruto," came a voice from the door. Naruto looked up and over to his visitor.

"Neji," he said, recognizing him. "What's up?"

"It still is not very late," said Neji. "There will still be some people in the streets. Please try to collect some information and, if there are any stores open, some supplies while you are out this evening."

Naruto stared at him blankly. "Out?"

Neji frowned. Had he forgotten already? "Hinata-sama is waiting for you in the lobby."

Oh, yeah.

"That's right," Naruto said, as though he had been thinking about it all along. "I was just going. You, uh... you're sure you're okay with it?" He remembered vividly Neji's earlier conversation about it.

"We talked about this already," Neji replied. "You should remember the conduct I outlined for you. I will trust you not to overstep your boundaries."

"Uh..." Naruto said, not certain he was entirely convinced of Neji's trust, "Thanks, Neji. I thought you'd be chaperoning us, but I guess you're all right."

"I can't chaperon you, since one of us must be with Uchiha at all times," Neji said. "But I suspect you will have another Hyuuga trailing in your shadow anyway. If nothing else, I can trust her not to let things go to far..."

_Or to scare us into not wanting to go that far,_ Naruto thought.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

In a small copse of trees lit brilliantly by the moon, three figures stood. All around them, the sounds of the night forest went on undisturbed. When they moved, they disturbed not even a single leaf or twig, and their voices seemed to barely disturb the air. One of the figures was heavily cloaked and hooded, face invisible even under the bright moonlight. The second seemed an extension of the moon itself, glowing white with its light reflected off his clothing and short, pale hair. Both of them stood facing the third, who wore a long black cloak patterned with red clouds.

This third figure moved with a grace that seemed unusual for a man of his great height. He had pure white hair that fell about his head like a shroud, and when he spoke, it seemed as though he were speaking in the language of the air itself. Looking at him, one might have been reminded of the legends of the benevolent angels, though the black and red cloak suggested he had fallen from grace some time ago.

"So, the two of you failed in your first attempt?" he asked his companions.

"Hai, Kouhei-sempai," said the second, heavily-cloaked one. "The girl has powerful friends. We managed to surprise her, but sheer coincidence brought her allies to her at the most inopportune moment. They will be more prepared for our next encounter."

"Damn that blond kid," said the third one. "Just had to come nosing around at the wrong time..."

"Hikaru, be silent," commanded the tall man in the cloud-patterned coat. The gleaming point of a straight dagger protruded from the coat's sleeve. "I have come from a difficult mission, and I have no patience for your callousness. Is that clear?"

"Yessir!" said Hikaru hastily. He knew the strength in that man's blade, but that wasn't what he feared. He knew the mastery of ninjutsu behind those sais could rip him apart even faster.

"Good," said Kouhei. He began undoing the black and red coat, pale, limber fingers working quickly and precisely to remove the false identity he had worn on his previous mission. A few of those fingers had blisters on them; something had burned the tall man's hand.

"Kouhei-sempai," asked the cloaked woman, "Have you been injured?"

"Only lightly, Ayaka," replied Kouhei. "My target was rescued by a very powerful opponent. I managed to end the battle favorably, however, and most of my wounds have recovered already. You do not need to be concerned."

"Then you will be able to join our mission without problems?"

"Wait a minute," interrupted Hikaru. "With all due respect, Kouhei, I have to ask... why did you just let your target go? Shouldn't you have followed it?" _Damn it, why did you have to come back so soon, you overpowered old-timer?_

"I did follow it, Hikaru," said Kouhei, tossing the cloak to the ground. "My target is in the same group as yours. We will be able to pursue both targets simultaneously."

Without the cloak, Kouhei looked more like a seraph than he had before. His white skin was completely unmarred by combat scars or scars of any type, and his tall, thin frame gave him the appearance of a holy prophet. He wore robes the color of the blue sky, and his presence seemed to leave a divine imprint on the night air.

The sight did not embolden Hikaru as a seraph would, however. It foretold many weeks of the worst possible company for the loud and cocky Cloud ninja.

"Is that so?" he said. "Well, isn't that nice. We're all going to work together again..." _On the bright side, Kouhei will make the whole mission shorter, so maybe we'll be able to go home before I lose my head._

"As your senior, I will be taking over command, now." Kouhei said. "Make yourselves ready. This night, there will be an opportunity..."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Wow," exclaimed Naruto enthusiastically. "This wasn't here before!" He was referring to a large plaza on the west side of the village that was ringed with many stores. Here, the night was alive; people were browsing through the still-open stores, taking strolls out in the cool evening air, and enjoying the products of several food stalls and carts.

"I don't know when they put this in, but it's definitely an improvement. Nighttime was completely dead when I was here two years ago." The teenage blond was looking over the new installations appreciatively as he passed them, clearly glad that he had volunteered to do this.

By his side, Hinata walked quietly smiling, her attire changed only in that she was not wearing her Leaf headband, happy on two accounts. First, because the plaza really was a magnificent attraction and she was glad to be seeing it with him. Second, she was relieved that the boy seemed to be enjoying himself after the stress of the last few days. On any other night, Naruto would have trained himself until he either collapsed or was retrieved by one of his teammates. Perhaps he would sleep more soundly tonight.

"This isn't the only thing that is new, though," she said, waving an arm at the nearby western wall. "You told us that this village was peaceful and welcoming when you visited it before, Naruto-kun, but this place looks almost like a fortress."

Indeed, the village in its current state did somewhat resemble a military stronghold. In addition to the high walls and heavy gates, several buildings had been reinforced with whatever the villagers had found handy, and some people were carrying weapons in plain sight. Though they had declared themselves neutral, the town appeared to be expecting an attack at any moment.

"It's a necessary precaution," said an elderly woman who had overheard them.

"Hmm?" Naruto said, turning to face her. "You think so, Obaa-chan?"

"I know so, young one," she replied. "Whenever wars break out between the north and south, all the eyes turn to this mountain region first. The Northern Eye looks at us and sees a terrain advantage. If they take control of the high ground up here, then they have a stronghold that can last for months without falling. The Southern Eye looks at us and sees a shortcut into the northern territory. They could go around us on the lower ground, but it would take much longer and put them at a disadvantage."

Naruto and Hinata listened to her intently. This woman had apparently survived one or two wars in this region. The information that she was providing them could prove valuable; if what she said was true, then they were in the middle of what might soon become one of the front battle lines.

"And both the Northern and Southern Eyes see the value of the resources in these mountains; iron ore, wood, game. They want a base where they can stockpile and craft these materials, and this village is as good a place as any."

"It must have been difficult to survive wars in the past," Hinata said softly, "Being such a valuable target."

"Yes," the woman said, closing her eyes as if envisioning a bloody memory. "It was. But we pulled through, child, and we'll pull through it again. Don't worry your young skulls over it."

"We'll try not to, Obaa-chan," Naruto said. "Bye now, take care!"

The woman waved at them as they walked away, thoughts whizzing through their heads.

"Nice old lady," he thought out loud.

"Yes," Hinata agreed. "But what she was saying... Do you think that it would be that serious, Naruto-kun?"

"Maybe," he conceded. "I heard the place was burned to the ground in the last war, after all. Neji will want to hear about it, but I don't think it matters much to us; we probably won't hang around to find out how right she is."

"Yes," Hinata said, "You're right, Naruto-kun."

"Am I ever wrong?" Naruto joked, putting on a grin.

Hinata laughed softly, infected by the cheerful humor that he produced even in the face of all this pressure. She found herself able to relax more around him, now that he was acting more like himself. Perhaps tonight she would have a real opportunity to...

"Oi, Hinata," Naruto said, pointing to a nearby stall, "Want to grab a bite?"

Well, this might not have been an official date, but it was definitely a good start. Now, if only they could avoid a certain "Nee-chan" for the remainder of the night...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Haruka stayed hidden in the shadows all throughout the conversation with the old lady, the short meal, and beyond, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. It was pointless to attempt to spike their food or drinks; she'd used that approach before, and Hinata would expect it. It was best to wait for a better angle to present itself.

Besides, it was sort of heart-warming to watch the two of them. Now that there was virtually no opposition to their being together and Hinata had gotten a handle on her shy nature, they were able to freely enjoy each other's company. And enjoy it they did; Naruto was in good spirits, and jovially dragged Hinata through every attraction that the plaza had to offer at the speed of maximum enjoyment. It was a little bit comical, seeing him whisk her off to every new shiny or brightly lit object that caught his eye. Interestingly enough, though Hinata was often struggling to keep up with the energetic blond, she seemed to be having the time of her life just being there with him.

"Almost makes me wish I was young again," Haruka said to herself from her view atop a shop roof. "I used to have such good times. Now all I've got who's any fun are those two and a blind moron, and even _he_ can't manage to find his way home. Stupid..."

She heaved a sigh. No, it was not good to be thinking about him right now. Every time she did, the old memories would surface of the fun they'd had beating the stuffing out of each other, and she would feel the ache of emptiness that she could no longer fill with her favorite living punching bag. And after that, the gruesome scenes conjured up by her imagination of Keisuke in chains, bleeding to death with his organs hanging out of his open abdomen...

_No, no, no!_ She thought. _That's wrong. We're supposed to be playing a prank, you Sadist._

It just so happened that at that moment, Naruto and Hinata were inspecting a shop that was full of shinobi artifacts and relics. Naruto was engrossed in an elaborate display of antique weaponry. Next to that display was an assortment of wooden and metal shinobi statuettes, one of which was of the Yondaime Hokage, the Yellow Flash of Konoha. As her eyes swept over this scene, an idea came to her.

"Let's see how you two react to this one," she said. Working out hand seals, she fixated upon the young blond Chuunin below. It was time to make use of her genjutsu skill.

Hinata noticed the statuette display just in time. Her gaze turned toward it, marveling at the superior craftsmanship of ages past. Haruka waited patiently for her to recognize the Yellow Flash, the one which would be most worthy of Naruto's attention.

_Come on, now,_ Haruka thought. _He isn't going to wait around all day. If you don't say something, he's going to drag you off somewhere else! Oh, finally!_

Hinata finally tugged at Naruto's shoulder and pointed at the wooden semblance of Konoha's greatest hero of old. Haruka smiled viciously as the boy turned around to look at it for himself. It was show time! As Naruto turned and his eyes fell upon the statuette, he recoiled in shock.

The figure he saw was not Yondaime, but Hinata.

The statuette was not wearing any clothes.

The statuette was very well-endowed.

Naruto, despite having better self-control than the Toad Sannin, fell on his backside, and wiped feverishly at the slow trickle of blood that was coming out of his nose. Haruka's smile broadened. Success!

Hinata knelt beside him, a worried expression on her face. Haruka knew that she would be asking what was wrong. In preparation, she altered her hand seals and her focus, changing the genjutsu for the next target. Naruto pointed at the statuette of Yondaime, and was apparently shocked to find that it was no longer naked or female or anything like Hinata. Hinata looked at the statuette again.

The figure she saw was not herself or Yondaime, but Naruto.

The statuette was not wearing any clothes.

The statuette was very well-endowed.

_Probably better-endowed than the real thing,_ Haruka thought to herself, _But we can let the girl dream._

Hinata, having lived a very sheltered life in which she was not often exposed to such sights, and not using her Byakugan, was totally unprepared to see it now. She keeled over backwards, where Naruto caught her just two feet above the ground.

"Damn it, Haruka nee-chan!" Naruto yelled into the night.

"Oh well, time to go," the older Hyuuga said. Staying in the shadow, she leaped off the opposite side of the building, disappearing into the darker parts of the village. Naruto would want to talk to her in the morning, that was for certain. On the bright side, though, she'd had her fun, and hopefully put some thoughts into their heads that would help advance their relationship.

So why was she not sniggering and laughing about it like the she-devil she was?

"What's wrong with me?" she asked no one. "I can't enjoy it like I used to. Am I losing my sense of humor? Is it some kind of withdrawal symptom from my beating on that idiot?"

Something within her told her that this wasn't it. She _had_ found Naruto and Hinata's reactions funny; she just hadn't been in the mood to fully enjoy it. Besides that, she had had plenty of opportunity to satisfy her need to hit things. Training practically every day against Naruto and popping clone after clone filled that requirement. So what was the real problem?

"No way," she told herself. "It couldn't be that. There's no way I could be this out of whack just because of _him._.."

Or could it?

She was spared any further thought on the matter, however, by the sound of laughter. It was several voices at once, a male and perhaps two or three females, and it was emanating from a small balcony on a nearby building. The building had a sleazy look to it, and the entrance below the balcony was lit with a neon sign that marked it as some kind of club.

Haruka turned her head. Could it possibly be? A mane of wild, white hair. A large scroll. A muscular frame wearing red. A laugh that sounded all too happy to be around feminine flesh. Of course it was. Who else would it be, especially in a tight situation like this?

Leaping from her current perch over onto the balcony, she landed right in front of the powerful man, face full of simultaneous mirth and wrath. Haruka had found another old favorite target for her harassment. The target and his consorts stopped laughing, staring in surprise at the intruder.

"What? You!" said the man, recognizing her.

"Me," agreed Haruka. "You've certainly turned up in an interesting place. You ladies had better clear out. The big guy and I here have got some 'business' to discuss. Matters of blackmail, embarrassment, and general exploitation..."

"Hey, hey now," interrupted the new target, showing more fear out of his surprise than he intended, "Aren't you going to ask me where I've been all this time? Aren't you going to yell at me for wasting time when I should have been helping you guys?"

Haruka's face arranged into an expression that the man thought he would never be required to see again.

"All in good time, Jiraiya-san."

OoOoOoOo Fade-Out no Jutsu! End Chapter Five oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter:** Jiraiya has been found! What news will he bring from his wanderings? Also, the leader of the Cloud team after Hinata has rejoined his comrades. How much stronger will they be with his support, and what is the opportunity that he mentions? Finally, just how close are Naruto and his companions to the front lines?

I'm the only one who knows. I'll tell you all about it when I next update!


	7. C6: Burning the Barriers

**A/N: **FINALLY!! The document manager has been on the fritz like never before. I had this chapter completed on Thanksgiving, but I couldn't put it up because I couldn't upload my file. So, several days late (growling at FFN), here is the next one.

I got mixed feelings about other things right now. Good news: It's official that the Naruto anime will cease its fillers and progress to post-timeskip in due time. The bad news: The announced date is in February, 2007, which not only is a grueling two to three months away, but also matches my shipping date. An amazing, if unwelcome, coincidence.

There is a bright side to that, though, since when I finally have the opportunity to watch it, I won't be spending long months waiting week by week for each episode to come out. They'll all be ready and waiting for me at once!

Now then: **CLIFFHANGER RESOLUTION NO JUTSU!**

**Chapter Six: Burning the Barriers**

The sound was heartrendingly familiar. It was as real and corporeal as it had been the first time around, and just as terribly unbelievable. To anyone else, it would have been easy to disbelieve, to pass off as mere illusion—for illusion it was, a fiction induced by drugs that recalled shades of the past. But Keisuke believed it; this memory was a part of him as much as the invisible arms that his jailers sought to extract.

It was the sound of a dying town. The air rushed through the cluttered streets in the wake of the final explosion, bringing with it clouds of dust that choked the blind child where he stood. Buildings that had not been fully destroyed in the initial blast continued to crumble around him. And through it all, the moans and cries of those who had been pinned underneath the beams of their caved-in ceilings and walls as they slept rose up to meet unwilling ears.

_Here now? _Thought the dreaming Keisuke. _Why does it have to be this memory? _

He felt his younger self stand stock-still, as though paralyzed on his feet. He knew that the child was in shock; the youth's psyche was in the process of denying the reality of it, trying to lock it away in a place where it could deal no further damage. As for himself, he was completely awake and competent; the mature Keisuke had witnessed death and destruction many times, and the scene around him was nothing new. At the same time, though, this immunity to shock left him vulnerable to the sadness which permeated the air of the wreckage.

_My home, _he thought bitterly. _Had I chosen to be more aware, "The Grave" would never have come to be. Orochimaru, you fiend... Did I really need to be reminded?_

The young version of himself would not feel this sadness for months after, when he had managed to drag himself to a neighboring town for medical treatment and recovery. He could remember the long loneliness that came after...

And as he thought about it, the memories flowed past around him. At a rapid pace, he experienced his early teens all over again. They were dark years, spent in an orphanage with no real friends and a handful of adults who spoke of him with pity in their voices. The young blind child knew that they meant well for him, but he still could not stand it.

Keisuke _hated _being pitied.

"The poor child," the matrons would say. "So tragic... No child should have to go through that."

_God, woman! _Keisuke yelled at one of them, though she was long dead and would never hear. _Don't say that! It's my fault that it happened... I _let _it happen! Pity the other orphans, pity my father, the poor manipulated fool, but not me. _

The dream Keisuke did not yell, but kept to himself, hating their pity and hating himself for bringing it all to be. Clutching beneath his shirt the last memento of his happy childhood—a metal ring that his mother had given his father once, long before that incident—as it hung on a chain around his neck. One or two of the greedier matrons had tried to pilfer it from him, under the pretense of volunteering to keep it safe. He had refused ardently to let anyone touch it. Other than repressed memories of the tragedy itself, it was all that he had left of his home. In this fashion, he lived his young life day in and day out.

Until, at age sixteen, he accidentally lost control of the matron's cart one day, allowing it to smash through a shop window. The matrons might have pitied him, and paid for the damage themselves, but they were not present, and the shopkeeper was not as kind. It was in the act of repaying his debt to the shopkeeper by cleaning up and repairing the damage that he met and befriended the shopkeeper's daughter, Yuka. From there, the dream took a very surprising turn.

_What the hell...?_

The nightmare seemed to be over, giving way to memories of the start of Keisuke's less angst-filled second life. With Yuka's kind friendship, support, and understanding of his disgust for pity, the dream Keisuke began to recover from his dark ages. Within a week, he found himself smiling for the first time in years, laughing as they shocked the pants off of his caretakers with false eyes that she had crafted out of wood and paint, and enjoying the warmth of her skin as he laid his head in her lap so that she could remove the splinters from his sockets afterward. In two months, they were spending nearly all of their spare time together, picnicking on the banks of the river that supplied the town with water, fish, and commerce. By the end of the fifth month, the two of them were secretly courting each other.

Suddenly the mature Keisuke understood what the dream was trying to do. This was a method of torture that he had heard about numerous times: Begin with pain, until the subject develops a tolerance. When that is through, subject them to a pleasurable experience—this will confuse the mental barrier that he has thrown up to withstand pain, corroding it so that eventually you can bring back the pain, blasting by the weakened defenses and driving him up a wall. In practice, this is usually repeated until the victim either gives his captor what he wants or is driven insane. Knowing this, Keisuke tried to steel himself. However...

_Damn it!_ He wanted to cry. _Damn you to hell, stupid drug! She feels and sounds too real..._

Despite knowing what would happen to him, Keisuke could not help but soften to the incredibly realistic reincarnation of his long-dead lover. He immersed himself in every touch, sound, and smell, glutting himself on the sweet memory like a starved child. Orochimaru's trap was clever in that even though he had guessed its intent, the allure of it rendered him powerless to stop him from falling for it like a total sucker.

And when the sweetest of memories had passed him by, he found himself re-experiencing his eighteenth birthday—the day he left the town behind, taking Yuka with him to begin life completely anew. He listened to himself bid good-bye to the orphan matrons, who at last had given up their pity and become happy for him. He felt the scrapes on his hands and feet as he climbed down through rocks and rubble, returning to the place where all his sadness had begun. It was silent now, quiet as the grave itself. No more screams of the dying, no more noise of buildings succumbing to fire and collapse; just the blowing of the breeze.

The dream Keisuke faced that ruin with not an ounce of shame or regret apparent within him. He was a man now; the memory of the horror would be with him always, but he now had the strength and maturity—and the support of a kind and wonderful fellow human being—to bear the burden of that memory. He tore loose the chain around his neck which held his mother's ring, flinging it into the wreckage with no longer a care in the world what happened to it. Let the past be buried... the future awaited him.

_Poor blind son of a bitch,_ the real Keisuke thought, exercising the pity that he still loathed upon his dream self. _You have no idea what the future has in store for you._

The thought was drowned as his dream self carried him up and out of the crater, into the arms of the waiting Yuka. He lost himself in the heart-wrenching realness of her lips as he kissed them tenderly, signifying the end of an era. And as the kiss was broken, so was the dream.

"Enjoying yourself, Keisuke-san?" came the voice of his terrible caretaker. "That's right... it's me again. Let's begin tonight's work, shall we?"

_Damn you to hell, Snake-eater._

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hinata's short dream was certainly out of the ordinary. Statues that magically transform into nude effigies of the person you like tend to inspire unconscious experiences involving similar characters and objects. If there was an advantage to fainting when exposed to such things, it was that the intensely graphic afterthoughts did not show on the outside, and she was spared the embarrassment of trying to speak and act normally while those thoughts were in her head, even though the fainting itself made her look a little weird.

The dream having run its course and relented, Hinata opened her eyes to find herself lying on a bench with Naruto's jacket lying draped over her. It was very warm, though its absurd color made her stick out against the stone like a neon light.

"Oh," said Naruto, seeing her wake, "You're up now, huh?" He was seated on the ground next to the bench, arms folded across his chest, leaning against the stone wall behind them. He regarded her with a cheerful look, but something on his face seemed distant, as though he had been absorbed in something.

Sitting up and pulling the orange and black jacket tighter around her, Hinata responded, "Yes. Naruto-kun, did I interrupt your thoughts?"

"Me, thinking?" Naruto said in a mock-affronted tone. "If you were a normal person, you'd be taking my temperature and asking me what I'd put in my last bowl of ramen." He chuckled to himself over that little joke, and Hinata giggled with him.

"But then again, you're not that normal," he went on. "That's one reason why I like you, though. 'Normal' for people who know me is either violence or disbelief. It's good to have people who have faith in me, you know?"

"Yes," Hinata agreed. "I always had faith in you, Naruto-kun. I find it impossible not to."

Naruto was quiet as it sank in. Hinata knew that he was remembering the conversation he'd had with her father. It had been then that he had found out the entire truth of her feelings for him. He appeared to have accepted her love as real, but... was he still struggling with himself over how to respond to it?

"Yeah," he said finally, "I know..."

Apparently, he was. Another silence passed in which Hinata found herself torn between pitying him and wishing that he would make up his damned mind. She was benevolent, and understood the reasons behind his indecision to a certain extent, but the delay of his response was wearing on her nonetheless. She'd done everything that she needed to on her end; the rest was in Naruto's hands, and the suspense associated with having no control over an extended process daunted her. This was especially true due to the high risk involved with the mission, and the resultant possibility that there might never be another chance. Their recent pseudo-date, now that it was over and fresh in their minds, contributed to the stress as well.

"But, damn," Naruto said, "Hell of a night, huh? Haruka nee-chan's pranks are pretty funny, once you get over the initial shock."

"Yes, definitely," Hinata agreed hastily, glad to have something else to talk about. "And we collected some useful information, too. Neji nii-san will be pleased with us."

"Yeah," said Naruto, standing up. "A lot more useful than Ero-sennin's 'information gathering,' that's for sure."

Hinata giggled again. She had been subjected to several comical stories about the illustrious Toad Sannin's misadventures in the time since Naruto had returned to Konoha. What he said next, however, carried more weight:

"It was kinda nice, actually, doing it with just us two. I wouldn't mind doing it again..."

The prospect of spending more such evenings with Naruto—a happy and willing Naruto, no less—was a huge booster for her spirits. Hinata lightened considerably; this was significant progress, and helped to ease the tension of the long wait. Smiling happily, she opened her mouth to suggest that it was a wonderful idea and that she would gladly go along with it...

But the blaring sirens halted her suggestion in her windpipe.

"What the...?" Naruto said, swiveling his head around to seek the cause of alarm. "That's the village's raid siren! But I don't see any enemies. Damn it, have the front lines found us already?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A huge explosion from the high barricade near the hotel roused Neji and the others from their rooms. Making certain that Sasuke was still securely tied into his sack on the bed, the young Hyuuga Jounin flung open the door to his room. In the hallway, Sakura, Kiba, and Shino were all congregated, looking confused and alarmed. Seeing their leader, they turned to him.

"Neji, what the heck is that?" asked Kiba. "The war wasn't supposed to come here... this town's supposed to be neutral, isn't it?"

"Then, who would be attacking here?" wondered Sakura.

Neji didn't know for himself. He could only listen to the commotion outside—the raid warning siren, the mercenaries scrambling to their battle positions, and the townsfolk bolting themselves indoors—and speculate.

"It may be," he said, "That there is something in this town that one side or the other wants. There could be rich stores of resources here that could be used to fuel a war machine, or they could simply be after a staging point from which to launch attacks at closer range to the enemy."

"So, the Sound would be after this place for those resources?" said Kiba.

"It may not even be the Sound," said Shino. "It could very well be our own Leaf forces or our allies from Sand. In that case, we would be expected to support the raid effort."

That rung Sakura and Kiba's bells.

"But..." said the medic, "Our allies wouldn't attack a neutral village just for that, would they?"

"It is a large-scale war," replied Shino, matter-of-factly. "The conflict could be spread out across the entire Shinobi map, eventually. Both sides must seize and secure as much territory and resources as possible, as quickly as possible, in order to gain an advantageous position early on."

"But," Kiba said, "That's... these guys never wanted any part of this! You're telling me our guys are just going to march in here and commandeer everything these people have so we can beat our enemies?"

"It is both likely and sensible," said the bug user. "A stronghold near the Sound border could shorten the war by giving us an early and easy access into their territory. This mountain village is both elevated and well-fortified, making it easy to defend. It is an ideal place for such a stronghold."

"That may be," said Sakura, "And I'm all for winning the war as soon as possible. But I still wouldn't feel any better if I were supposed to help capture these peaceful people..."

"If it comforts you, Sakura-san," said Neji, "The Sound will want to do the same thing, and they would not treat a captured town nearly as well as our allies would. You can think of it as the lesser of two evils."

A second explosion rocked the town. This time, it came from the other direction.

"An attack from two directions?" said Sakura.

"Hey, that isn't good," said Kiba. "Naruto and Hinata are still out there!"

This realization struck all of the present shinobi into action. If the two waves of advancing forces were the enemies of Leaf, it would not be good for their friends, nor for them. In that case, they would need to locate Naruto and Hinata and escape with them quickly.

"It seems that we will all need to get used to war," Neji said, "And quickly. Kiba, you and Akamaru stay here with me. If it is the enemy, I won't be able to hold them off forever, and it is possible that our traitor guide may escape in the confusion. Sakura-san, Shino, you two go and look for Naruto and Hinata. If you find Haruka-san, take her with you as well. If not, don't worry about her; she is competent and skilled enough to slip away unharmed."

"Are you sure you'll be all right with just two of you?" Sakura asked.

The first sounds of combat reached their ears. An involuntary shiver ran down the Jounin's spine; he'd been in many fights, but with such a large battle, and such an important prisoner and two friends' lives in his hands...

"We can manage," he affirmed. "We're in close quarters; Naruto and Hinata-sama are exposed in the streets, and will need you more than we will. Go immediately!"

Shino and Sakura nodded affirmative, and vanished forthwith. Neji and Kiba went back into the room which held Sasuke, and settled in for a long siege.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The mountain town was under heavy siege from two opposite directions. Walls on both ends had been breached by explosives, and shinobi strike teams were quickly overpowering the mercenary soldiers. Split between two fronts, the town's defenders had to spread themselves evenly to both of them. This inability to concentrate their forces led to them being sorely beaten back before they could mount a retaliation.

On one end, Sakura and Shino leaped towards the center of the village, their civilian disguises removed, bearing the Leaf insignia to alert any military in the area to their allegiance. From their vantage point, and with the aid of the bright warning lights that accompanied the sirens, they could see the invading force on their side of the village with little effort.

"Those are Sound shinobi," Sakura said. "And there's quite a few of them! They still have all these ninjas, even after losing so many in Konoha?"

"This might be the remainder of their forces," replied the bug user from under his heavy coat. "It makes sense that they would want to make their last stand here. It is well-fortified, and they might withstand months of siege. Do you see now?"

"Yes," Sakura said, looking over at it. "The town forces are over the surprise now. They're starting to push back at them. With such a small hole in the wall to come through, the shinobi can't dodge all of the fire as they come in."

Shino nodded. "Even in coming through here, they will take significant losses," he said. "But if they succeed, then they will have a very effective protection behind these walls. These are ordinary soldiers manning the walls; can you imagine how well-defended they would be if they were guarded by shinobi?"

Very, very well, imagined Sakura. Even with just a few, the deadly precision and accuracy of ninjas, coupled with sturdy walls like these, would make a flat-out assault nearly suicidal.

"The soldiers won't keep the Sound out for long," said Sakura. "We should hurry. We have to find those two and get out of here, now!"

Shino was silent, but he stepped up the pace. He had no desire to lose his teammate in this war, and Naruto was enough of a friend to him to merit saving, as well. The two of them zipped from roof to roof with as much speed as they could muster, all the while scouring the ground below for signs of their allies.

However, keeping their eyes focused downward turned out not to be an especially good idea. It left them almost completely unaware to the dangers that came from above. Fortunately, Shino's bugs were more alert than he was, and they warned him in time.

"Sakura, get down!" the bug user yelled. He grabbed her and pushed her down hard against the roof, dropping down himself just in time. The blast of concentrated air whooshed over their heads, missing them by millimeters and crashing into the roof just in front of them.

Their attackers were prepared to react to this maneuver, however. Vines sprung up from below, from the shadows of the walls of the building they lay upon. They whipped rapidly towards Shino, wrapping him up tightly.

"Shino-san!" Sakura yelled, pushing herself up and pulling a kunai to cut him free.

"Hey, pink-head, play with me!" The loud voice stopped Sakura, and as she looked around frantically for the source, something struck her from directly in front, knocking her backwards away from Shino. As she regained her footing, she still couldn't find any trace of her mysterious attacker.

"I know you're here!" she yelled. "Show yourself, my 'mistress!' I've got a score to settle with you!"

"Ayaka-chan wasn't the one that hit you, girlie," said the voice of her attacker. "I was!"

And suddenly Sakura was struck again by the invisible opponent. She managed to stay on her feet this time, however, and turned in the direction the blow had come from, slamming her fist into the roof and causing it to ripple outward in a shock wave.

She had apparently missed, however; there was no sign of anything but the roof having sustained damage. Cursing, she swiveled her head, and caught sight of a tall, white-haired man in a sky-blue robe. The man was currently making seals with his hands. Sakura braced herself; she didn't know what it was this shinobi was capable of.

"**Ninpou: Arashi Shibari no Jutsu." **(Secret Art: Storm Binding Technique)

Seemingly from nowhere, a small cyclone sprung to life, trapping Sakura in its center. Roof shingles were torn up all around her as the high winds ripped round and round. There was nowhere that she could go.

"I apologize," said the man in the robe. "I normally would not resort to killing such young ones as yourselves, but my teammates have identified you as obstacles between us and our targets. You will understand if we eliminate you now."

"Those jutsus... You're the team from Kumogakure, aren't you?" yelled the pink-haired girl from above the roar of the winds. "You're after Hinata again? Why here, in this dangerous place, where you could get caught up in the war?"

"Ha! Caught up in it, she says," scoffed the invisible attacker. "As though we should be actually _afraid..."_

"Hikaru, be quiet," said the wind user. "Finish the task."

"All right, all right, Kouhei," sighed Hikaru. "I'm going." Five kunai suddenly fell to the ground in a circle around the wind-trapped Sakura. Each one had a differently-colored tag attached to it. Where they had come from, Sakura still could not see, for the jutsu that the boy had which allowed him to hide within the bright lights affixed to the raid sirens was still in effect.

"**Ninpou... **argh! What the hell?"

Through the swirling cyclone, Sakura could at last make out the outline of Hikaru. A pair of shuriken had lodged themselves in his left hand and arm as they were making the hand seals for his killing technique. Standing near to him, bugs swarming out from their living hive, was Shino, freed from the vines by the destructive potential of his insects.

"You!" shouted Hikaru. "How the heck did you get me?"

"The bugs alerted me," replied Shino. "Your invisibility works well to deceive the eyes, but preparation for any ninjutsu will utilize chakra that the bugs can sense. They felt you molding chakra and alerted me to your general direction enough for me to react quickly."

"Damn it!" yelled the enemy. "Ayaka-chaaaaan! Weren't you supposed to be holding him?"

"I have said before, Hikaru," said the plant user, appearing next to Kouhei, "That the Aburame is strong against my plants. Knowing this, you should have spent less time talking and killed the girl quickly, rather than allow him time to eat through my vines."

"Ayaka, Hikaru," interrupted Kouhei sternly, "That is enough bickering. If we do not kill these two quickly, we will not have time to capture the targets before the end of the countdown. Do you understand?"

The other two Cloud shinobi didn't have time to answer. A loud crash sounded as the roof below the two ninja parties erupted, making way for a huge mass which tore the building apart. The mass was colored red-orange, and it was wearing shiny steel battle armor. The Cloud leaped away from it onto another nearby roof. Shino attempted to do the same, but a hand grabbed his arm and hauled him toward the mass. The other hand on the same person retrieved Sakura and brought her, too, straight onto the back of the thing.

It was a very large frog. On top of it stood Jiraiya.

"Your time is already up, Kouhei!" yelled the Frog Hermit, the light of battle-fires glinting off of his unique forehead protector. "Did you miss me?"

The one who had pulled Shino and Sakura up to join him on the frog's back now advanced forward to see the enemy as well. A long braid blew in the winds of war.

"So, these are the punks who attacked Hinata-chan in the cave," said Haruka. "They don't look like much, Jiraiya. Are you sure they're as strong as you say they are?"

"J..." gasped Sakura, surprised at their appearance, "Jiraiya-sama! Haruka-san!"

"I know the leader, Kouhei, is very strong," said the Toad Sannin. "He gave even me a rough time; I've still got cuts that haven't quite healed. He's stronger than Kakashi. Be careful with him."

"Really?" said Haruka, licking her lips absentmindedly. "Sounds like a challenge..."

"Not one I'd recommend taking on at your level," Jiraiya said. "Not without that Keisuke fellow, anyway. As for the other two, I can't say. I've never seen them before."

"They can't be that good," Haruka mused, "Seeing as they lost to Naruto and his friends so easily..."

"HEY!" yelled Hikaru from below. "We didn't lose, you bitch! That was a tactical retreat!"

"Same difference, little boy," rejoined the Sadist, smirking down at him.

Though Hikaru fumed, Kouhei had the stronger will. He caught and held his teammate's eye, keeping him from rushing forth in blind anger.

"You surprise me by showing up here, Jiraiya-sama," said the wind master. "It seems that we will not be able to retrieve our targets tonight. Not with the Sannin and these three all at once in our way. We will make another retreat."

Kouhei made a short set of hand seals, and then a powerful gust blew towards the giant frog and its passengers. The shinobi, forced to hang onto the frog's skin with all their strength to prevent being blown off, could not pursue the Cloud ninjas, who retreated under the wind's cover.

"Damned cowards," Haruka grumbled when she had picked herself up.

"Let them go," said Jiraiya. "We have more important things to worry about. Aburame, Sakura, where is Naruto?"

"We were just out here looking for them," Sakura reported. "But we haven't found..."

"Them?" Jiraiya asked.

"Naruto went into the village with Hinata," explained Shino, "To gather information."

The Toad Sannin's jaw dropped. "He did what? No! I haven't taught him how to..."

"And what was that about more important things to worry over, Jiraiya-sama?" asked Haruka, her eyebrows raised.

"ERO-SENNIN!" yelled a loud and frenzied voice. "Where the hell were you? If you were looking for us, why was your mind is still in the gutter? Didn't you learn anything the last time we were here?"

Naruto and Hinata leaped up to join their comrades, and Naruto gave the white-haired hermit a smack on the head. Sakura gave a sigh of relief, and Shino noted their return with approving silence. The two of them were still both in one piece and apparently unharmed. Aside from Naruto's anger at his former mentor, everything seemed to be okay.

"We saw your frog," said Hinata, "And came right away. Reinforcements are right behind us."

"Reinforcements?" asked Shino.

"Yeah!" said Naruto. "The Sand! They thought the Sound would be moving here and came to keep them out of it. Who'd have thunk they would both get here at the same time?"

Sakura was struck speechless. The village was under attack from _two different factions?_ Her mind went immediately to the aftermath of the battle; there would be many dead, and a lot of homes could be destroyed from the clashing superpowers. This war might tear the town apart in a single night!

"So it comes to this," said Shino. "We have been caught on the front line of this war. If we are to move any closer to our destination, we will first need to win this battle."

"Yeah, it looks like it," Naruto said. "Damn, I didn't think I'd be seeing another huge battle like this so soon."

"None of us did," agreed Haruka. "But that doesn't make winning any less important. Let's find Neji and Kiba and get to work. We've got a lot of flies to swat before morning!"

"We may not have that long," added Shino. "The enemy in blue mentioned a countdown..."

The village defenses had been completely overrun. The mercenary soldiers who were still alive had surrendered to either the Sound or the Sand, and the two shinobi forces were on a collision course with each other towards the middle of the village. The sirens began to die as the buildings on which they were mounted were crushed or burned. And in the middle of it, nine shinobi of the Leaf, originally on a rescue and reconnaissance mission, were about to become part of the broader and more destructive war.

OoOoOoOo Plot-Twist no Jutsu! End Chapter Six oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **The Leaf ninjas have ended up smack in the middle of a major battle! Can they survive and secure the town for their allies without wrecking the entire place? What is this "countdown" that Kouhei has mentioned? What is it that Jiraiya forgot to teach Naruto about "information gathering?"

Keep reading...


	8. C7: Front Line

**A/N: **Fall term final exams are finally over! Following this, I have absolutely nothing to do except entertain myself in any way possible until my ship date. That's good news for you, eh? You can thank your Gods for the upcoming chapters later.

**Battle Chapter no Jutsu.**

**Chapter Seven: Front Line**

The Cloud trio, led by their senior teammate, Kouhei, left the village quietly and without leaving a trace of themselves behind. Going through a clean—if somewhat dusty—tunnel created previously through rapid, forced wind erosion, they passed underneath the hastily-erected wall undetected, escaping into the craggy south. Under their captain's orders, they kept running until they had completely lost sight of the smoke rising from the town behind innumerable rocky spires and peaks.

Once well out of sight, Kouhei called a halt. Hikaru, being the youngest of the group and possessing the least stamina, promptly flopped onto the ground, panting. They hadn't run very far, as shinobi distances went, but the pace that Kouhei liked to set was far too quick for his liking. Ayaka, though less winded than her younger teammate, was obviously showing similar signs of fatigue. She leaned against a nearby rock formation and tossed back her dark hood, quietly sucking in oxygen to replace that which she had so quickly burned. Even she was unused to matching her sempai's speed.

Kouhei himself stood erect, a short distance from his comrades, allowing them time to recover themselves. Ayaka needed her breath to speak, and Hikaru, as much as Kouhei would rather have him remain quiet, was unlikely to be able to hear orders over the current wheezing noises that he was making. He knew much of the noise was faked in an effort to complain where non-verbal complaints had been outlawed, but said nothing to criticize the boy; his pace had, after all, been faster than usual.

_It had to be, _thought the wind master to himself, _since it is not easy to ensure escape from one of Konoha's Sannin, even with the elements to ward us. _

Ayaka finally caught her breath, pulling her hood back over her head and removing herself from the earthen spire. After a brief self-examination for injury or overexerted muscle tissue, she gathered herself and spoke up.

"Kouhei-sempai," she questioned, green eyes flashing with a hint of amazement, "I am surprised that you opted to retreat so quickly. With the strength that you possess, you are a match for almost any four or five skilled shinobi. We easily mastered the first two without using even a fraction of your power, so why did you choose to run when only two more appeared?"

"Yeah!" added Hikaru, spontaneously recovering from his wheezing. "I've been wondering about that, too! The countdown's not supposed to be up for another six minutes. You can't expect me to believe that some old man, two girls, and some human ant farm would have held us up that long!"

"I would not speak so lightly of the Aburame clan if I were you, Hikaru," said Ayaka.

The light-haired youth stared at the girl for a moment. A confusion was plain as day in his face. Kouhei raised an eyebrow at the exchange, curious to know what this was about. He allowed Hikaru to go on staring and Ayaka to continue glaring for the full three seconds before the boy spoke again.

"What's with you, Ayaka-chan?" he asked. "Ever since we first ran into these guys, you've been on my case about it. 'Must respect the Aburame,' or 'never underestimate the Aburame's ability.' What is it about this guy that has you so worked up? You got a grudge against him? When you were a kid, did a bug fly up your..."

Hikaru would have rambled on and on, but a length of vine suddenly tangled itself around his face, muffling him. His eyes went wide, and he began making garbled complaints through the leafy gag. His voice stopped, however, when he saw his teammate move to stand, dark and looming, directly over him, a look of murder in her eyes. More scared of her now than he had ever been of Kouhei, he sat perfectly still.

"My reasons are my own," she said. "Inquire again, and you will find yourself in an amount of pain that you never thought you were capable of feeling. Now you will sit quietly, patch the shuriken wound in your arm, and listen to Kouhei-sempai's orders. Understood?"

No argument passed the throat of Hikaru, and after a five seconds that seemed five years, the vines released themselves and retreated back underneath their mistress's cloak. As they left, they dropped a roll of medical tape and gauze into the white-clad boy's lap. He picked them up and began hastily to clean and bandage his wounded arm, shuddering at the memory of his near-death experience. He no longer wanted anything to do with the Aburame; he had another thought on his mind.

_Ayaka-chan, you're a total beauty... but, damn! You're scarier than Kouhei and that crazy-strong medic chick combined! _

Sensing that all relevant exchanges had transpired, the wind master adjusted his blue robe and took his turn to speak. The moon framed him like an angel's glow as he explained himself.

"The reason that I retreated," Kouhei said, "Was because of the older man, the frog summoner. He is known as Jiraiya, the Toad Hermit, and he is one of Konoha no Sato's renowned Sannin. As such, he is among the strongest shinobi known to the entire world. To defeat him alone would have required the combined efforts of all three of us, and it would have taken an immense amount of time. To try to pass him and retrieve our targets within the allotted time would have been an impossible mission."

Ayaka's eyebrows narrowed at this information. "Are you certain it was _the_ Jiraiya, Sempai? He did not seem to me to be one of any great power, though he did arrive on a large frog."

Hikaru, still too much in shock to speak but not too much so to wonder, turned his head up from his work to look at his captain. He, too, was interested in hearing the response.

"It was the very same," replied Kouhei, "As the Jiraiya whom I fought before, when my previous attempt on my target failed. The burn scars on my fingers are the least of the injuries that he inflicted on me before, and I have no desire to repeat the experience."

"So," asked Hikaru, having recovered enough courage to speak, "What are we gonna do now? The targets will be a lot better protected."

Kouhei nodded. "This is the truth. We will need to exercise a great amount of care from now on. We will need to watch them carefully, and wait for the ideal opportunity."

"With such a strong opponent, the opportunity may never present itself," argued Ayaka. The girl's eyes betrayed a hint of disappointment. All present knew that she had little patience for impossible missions.

"Perhaps," said the wind master. "But, perhaps not. Even the legendary Jiraiya-sama is bound to have weaknesses that we can exploit..."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jiraiya did indeed have weaknesses. To this date, the official record listed zero, but there were in actuality two of them, and they could be found in the section of his profile headed by "likes." These two unofficial weaknesses were sake and women, and when both were present in abundance, the Toad Sennin was at his most vulnerable, becoming nearly as harmless as a sheep.

However, neither one was present at this moment, and the sheep had turned into an unstoppable force that no Sound shinobi wanted to be near. He tossed his wild mane of white hair about him as he slammed his mighty arm into the chest of one enemy after another, felling each one with a single stroke.

At one point, a few of the mercenary soldiers that remained alive had manned a catapult, intending to fling flaming death at the shinobi in a last-ditch effort to stop the invasion. They began to fire indiscriminately, not caring whether they hit Sand, Sound, or Leaf. Their first shot arced high into the night air, following a steep parabola which terminated right on the illustrious Sannin's head.

Jiraiya, not having earned his title because of his endless womanizing and drinking, noticed it coming long before it was upon him. He formed a few rapid hand seals, and his hair immediately lengthened and took on the properties of a porcupine's hide. The Hare Jizou in effect, he whipped his head around, clearing the space nearby of all enemies. A few leaped out of the way in time. Most were not so fortunate, and came away bleeding from multiple puncture wounds.

Yet even as he was doing this, the Sannin had begun preparations for another jutsu. Power swirled in the palm of his hand, taking on the form of a sphere. It compacted and intensified until it was so bright and powerful that it could have brought all the supports of a stone fortress down in a single run. Coming out of his whirling motion and taking a step backwards, Jiraiya raised the sphere towards the sky. When the oncoming catapult shot came hurtling down, he thrust his arm forward, towards it.

"**Rasengan!"**

The shot was torn to shards by the swirling chakra, and the shrapnel that artfully pelted away from the outstretched hand struck down the enemies that had avoided the whirling hair. Witnessing so many of their comrades fall to this one man, a number of the surviving Sound shinobi turned and fled for their lives. Jiraiya stood tall over his dead enemies, a smile of grim satisfaction on his face. He knew that there would be no escape for these poor, misguided souls.

The ones who fled met no opposition for two blocks of street, and it seemed that they would be able to get away alive. However, these defeated ninja were unable to see the invisible seal that had embedded itself in the ground in the third block. By the time the white glow started up, signaling the trap's activation, they were already irrevocably caught. Naruto's voice rang out in the night, sounding out their doom.

"**Reiude Ninpou:** **Chiri Bofuuwana!" **

The trap seal went off, and a terrible dust devil rose up around the unfortunate Sound nin. The dirt kicked up into their eyes, blinding them even as they were lifted from their feet into the heart of the miniature maelstrom. Round and round they went, completely at the mercy of a fifteen year old blond kid.

"Okay! Go now, Hinata!" he yelled. Leaping down from his hiding place atop a roof, he began working his way towards the trap, clearing away stray enemies and debris around it.

Above him, Hinata jumped headfirst into the twister, Byakugan active and shielding her eyes with an artifact from years ago: an old pair of goggles that Naruto had kept in miraculously good shape, which he had used when he had first begun his regiment of training with wind jutsu. Thusly armed with protected, superior vision, she was able to spot one of the trapped enemies through the thick dust and grab onto a leg. The enemy fought her, of course, but prompt retaliation with well-placed Hakke strikes cut off his chakra and silenced his struggles. Now all she had to do was hold on.

Below, Naruto had finished plowing out a good space. He approached the edge of the whirlwind, hands outstretched, brow furrowed in concentration. This was a critical part; if he messed this up, Hinata might get seriously hurt. His gathered chakra pulsed around him, making his orange and black jacket ripple around him slightly, and his deep blue irises fixed upon the twister. He anchored himself to the ground with his nine chakra tails, and executed his maneuver.

Exercising chakra nature manipulation practiced over many days, the boy turned his chakra into a knifing blast of air. This he held steady, watching the whirlwind until he caught sight of his signal: a yellow smoke trail. With this flare he was able to see the path of Hinata and her captive as they whirled round and round, and time his move perfectly. When the smoke trail was on its way around towards him again and angled slightly upward, he shoved his air into the base of the tornado, disrupting the spin. Enemies flew out of the vortex as it dissipated, vaulting involuntarily to their doom.

Naruto didn't care about those others. Getting his own allies out alive was the priority. Luckily, his timing had been perfect, and Hinata, still holding onto her incapacitated prisoner, sailed in a neat upward arc, gravity slowly decelerating her. This was more than manageable enough, and far better than the paths of those who had been thrown straight down. Naruto created a multitude of shadow clones, and all of them leaped up to meet the Hyuuga girl just as she began to come down.

Adrenaline pumped full-throttle in his veins as he navigated upward. He could not jump anywhere near as high as Hinata had flown, of course, but thanks to his Kage Bunshins, he had plenty of stepping stones. He and several more of himself were grabbed and tossed up higher by those that were below them, and when this burst of upward velocity ran out, those that made it up this high paired off and threw again. The true Naruto's heart raced a mile per minute; it had been a crazy stunt to begin with, but he'd never expected to be this high in the air, ever!

Finally, after throwing three times, Naruto and his clones caught up with the girl. It had not been long since she had begun falling, and he and one bunshin were able to grab hold of both her and her prisoner fairly easily. She seemed to be okay, though her hair was windswept, her face was pallid with vertigo, and he could feel her pulse throbbing hard and heavy—not just from being held by him, either. If Naruto had time to talk, he would have told her that he understood; there was only one way to go now, and that was down... from a height of perhaps twenty stories. A shinobi was trained to cushion his or her fall and land lightly enough to avoid injury, but even these techniques wouldn't be able to spare them completely from that height.

_Oh boy,_ Naruto thought to himself. _Maybe I should have used a different trap. Some might have gotten away, but then we wouldn't be this freaking high..._

They were fortunate; the Shadow Clones that had managed to come back down without puffing into smoke had recovered themselves and were now coming up again. Naruto and the clone that helped him carry the load used each successive one as a springboard, allowing the leapers to heave up on their feet and slow them down. It was nerve-wracking, because there was always the chance that a clone would pass by them accidentally without slowing them at all. However, for the first three waves, this didn't occur, and the falling party began to feel a bit safer.

On the fourth wave of leapers, Naruto managed to connect with one, but the bunshin holding the captive missed his mark, continuing to fall. Hinata let out a small gasp as they continued to plummet, despite the clones' mad scramble to pass him between one another. The real Naruto swore loudly as the captive slammed into a nearby rooftop with an audible crack. By the time he and Hinata hit the pavement, which greeted Naruto's legs roughly but not nearly as bad, the clone was making a slit-throat motion with his hand at them.

"Damn it!" Naruto swore again, putting Hinata down. "He's dead. All those flashy acrobatics for nothing."

Hinata, glad to be out of the air, said, "You shouldn't be worried, Naruto-kun. I'm sure there will be other chances. A-and... it's good that we're still alive."

Naruto had to agree with that last part. His heart still wouldn't slow down after an intense ride like that. Turning to look at his partner, he examined her up and down for unintended injuries—after all, his wind trap had become infinitely stronger since he'd begun practicing. He was glad to note, mentally, that her clothing and long hair had been rendered completely filthy by the dust storm, and that the goggles he had lent her had left a band of cleanliness around her eyes that looked ridiculously like a raccoon mask, but she was all in one piece. Satisfied, he gave a small nod to himself and turned toward the city walls.

"Okay," he said. "Let's go see if we can find us another batch before..."

"Sound forces in full retreat!!" Came a loud yell from the direction he faced. "Guard forces neutralized! Town is now under the control of the Sand!!"

A mighty cheer rose up among the shinobi who had survived. A few of them even began singing songs that were unfamiliar to Naruto and Hinata, but which sounded suspiciously like a Wind Country victory march. Fire and medical crews rushed forward to begin the cleanup in the wake of the Sound retreat. A few civilian heads poked out of their windows and doors, seeing for themselves whether the violence was truly over. These people were used to being captured; they knew when it was time to hide and when it was safe to come out again.

"Aw, great..." Naruto groaned. "How are we going to interrogate any of 'em now?"

Hinata stopped brushing herself off for a moment to try to answer him with reassurance. However, she was almost immediately interrupted by her rambunctious teammate, who landed on the side of her opposite from Naruto, clenching his fists and carrying a turbulent expression on his face. Akamaru crashed down shortly behind him, unbloodied but whimpering.

"Interrogate, my ass!" Kiba yelled loudly. "We've won already! Let's just get the hell out of here."

Everyone present found themselves recoiling in surprise. Kiba was normally a wild man, but the feral look of horror on his countenance and the way his voice cracked oddly signaled trouble. Hinata went into gentle peacekeeper-mode.

"Kiba-kun?" she asked softly, "What happened?"

"Nothing!" snapped the dog-boy. "Our job here is done, right? Let's go!"

"Hold it, Kiba!" said Naruto, stepping forward and grabbing the other boy's arm. Kiba looked toward him and snarled with bestial anger, snatching his hand back.

"Hey!" said the blond, raising his own voice. "No need to get so testy! Where are Neji and the guys we sent to find you? And on top of that, what's up with the weird act, anyway?"

"Kiba has had a bad experience, but the rest of us are fine," came a low voice from a nearby alley.

"As well off as I can be, being practically dragged across burning wreckage," complained another one from the same direction.

The owners of the two voices emerged. One of them was tall, sepia-haired, and clothed in dirty robes. The other was still bound up in his bag, with only his raven-crested head sticking out, wearing a nasty expression of distaste. Naruto recognized them as Neji and Sasuke, and behind them followed Sakura, who had apparently been the one to find them. Naruto rushed over.

"Glad to see you're still alive. Have a rough time?" Naruto asked, noting several smudges on the Jounin's face.

"We're fine," Neji repeated. "As for Kiba, he had a bad encounter with some of the locals. Akamaru knocked him over to save him from a flight of kunai, and his own aim went bad because of that. He..."

"Shut up!" yelled Kiba. "Don't remind me! Let's just get out of here..."

"...accidentally killed a civilian," Neji finished. Kiba's face screwed up in rage, but he couldn't strike his commander. So he waited there, seething and wishing he could undo the whole day.

Sakura looked down at her feet. She had tried to save the poor child, but the shuriken had embedded in her heart, and there had been no way to stop the internal bleeding in time. The death, and the aftermath that followed, brought inexplicable sadness to her. She couldn't imagine what it had done to the inside of Kiba. The mother had gone berserk, charging the wild boy and his dog with a hysterical grief and anger that he had only been able to stand and endure until Sakura and Neji had grabbed hold of him and hauled him away.

The other Leaf shinobi were quietly stunned. Naruto turned to gape at his friend with the red triangle face marks, both sorry for him and at the same time not quite believing that such an accident had actually happened. Hinata clasped her hands together in front of her, looking with sadness upon her troubled teammate and friend. They'd worked together a long time; she knew what the young Inuzuka must be thinking of himself.

Neji was still able-minded, however, and he did not allow his subordinates to grieve long. There were other matters to discuss and not much time to discuss them. Soon, they would have to be moving again, especially if they wanted to outrun the front lines of this war.

"Where are Haruka and Shino?" he asked. "Sakura told us that you sent them looking for us, but they should have had time to search the entire village by now. Have you found either of them, or are they with Jiraiya-sama?"

Naruto shook his head. "I haven't found 'em," he said. "But I don't know if Ero-Sennin's had any luck or not, so there might be some chance there."

"That's fine," said Neji, nodding. "We should find them easily. Once we do find them, though, we'll be moving out of here immediately, to put some distance between us and the main battle line. Our pace will have to be quicker from now on."

"You sure about that?" Naruto asked. "The Sand guys might still need us. We don't know if the Sound have something up their sleeves, and that 'countdown' thing we heard about still hasn't been figured out."

"The Suna Shinobi have the entire village and its fortifications under control," Neji told him. "We spoke to a passing Jounin about the 'countdown,' and they will have teams sweeping the area for traps or explosives. Also, soldiers and siege crews from the army of the Wind Country are on their way and will be here by morning, so the Sand will be well-reinforced. They have no need of us."

Naruto took this in, then gave a nod and a thumbs-up. With his fears dispelled, he had as little reason as the rest of them to be in this smashed-up, war-torn place. He went back to stand with Hinata, carefully avoiding Kiba's eyes; the brown-haired dog owner was keeping one angry eye on him, as though it were Naruto's fault for asking about it. Akamaru looked at Naruto also, but his doggy eyes were strangely apologetic. The blond chuunin fought the impulse to blink and stare—that mutt was getting more human in expression even as his master got wilder.

Neji gave the order to get moving, and the party took to the burning roofs, searching for the rest of their friends.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was dark underneath the shadows of the two houses. Both buildings had been collapsing toward each other, and though one would expect them to simply crumble to the ground from the collision, they had miraculously remained intact, each supporting the other's weight. Of course, the families within had promptly left the vicinity for fear that their homes wouldn't remain at rest. They were right to have done so; though they remained precariously balanced now, they creaked and groaned, giving the impression to passerby that they might topple at any moment. This effect added a sense of terror that the darkness alone never would have inspired.

This was precisely the reason why Haruka had chosen this spot to "chat" with her prisoner. She had caught him trying to sneak through a gap in one of the barricades, long before the enemy leaders had sounded the retreat horn. The Sadist had labeled him as a coward then, and therefore an ideal target. She had been right; the man practically reeked of fear.

A normal person might have taken pity on the poor soul, for there were stronger men than him who had caved to the white-eyed, demonic, genjutsu-altered face that grinned terribly before him now. But Haruka was not normal in this fashion. She enjoyed inhaling the fumes of terror that he gave off, knowing that it had been she herself who caused them. 

Did that make her evil? Of course not; she would never do this to good people. They might get pranked in rude, ugly ways, but never were they subjected to this. Because they had been spared, however, Haruka's friends had no real conception of the monster that had truly earned her the name, "Sadist."

Faced with this monstrosity, coupled with the dark and the possibility of being crushed at any time the wind chose to pick up, there was nothing that the poor man would not say to have his life spared.

"_**Tell me."**_ said the Sadist.

"Ah-ah-I-I-I..."

"_**The longer you delay, the more painful it will be!"**_

The captive Sound nin swallowed hard, trying desperately to get his fear under control. This was the most horrible monster he had ever met, even if it was only a genjutsu. Laboring to control his breathing, he tried once more to speak.

"We c-came here, you see, n-not knowing the Sand would follow. We were such a small f-force, and there are no others left, since there were so few to begin with and fewer still who survived the assault on K-Konoha..."

"_**Then you and the Sound that attacked here tonight are the last ones? Thinking to make a final stand in this fortress, were you?"**_

"Y-yes."

"_**And where is your snake of a master now, worm?"**_

This was a tough decision. Nobody really knew where Orochimaru went; he had spent the last three years moving around constantly, communicating his orders through shady elite agents that nobody dared to question or make demands of. But if he said he didn't know, would she buy it?

His indecision cost him. A hand lanced toward him, striking him in the chest. Chakra shot into his right lung, bringing immense pain and causing him to cough blood.

"_**Don't try my patience! I am not Morino Ibiki, who has the luxury of time." **_

In the end, he decided to simply tell the truth and hope for the best. Once he got his cough under control and was able to breathe with a sense of normalcy, he opened his mouth to the creature.

"I... don't kn-know..."

The hand came again, this time hitting him in the side. He howled as pain seared into his intestines.

"_**I told you not to waste my time!!"**_ bellowed the Sadist. **_"Your master, Orochimaru, has something of mine. If you won't help me find it, then you can drop off the face of the earth!"_**

The Sound ninja had absolutely no idea what the demon was talking about. Normally, when Orochimaru wanted something, the thing that had current possession of it usually died. Then again, stealing from this thing seemed so impossible to him as to actually be funny. The thought, combined with his terror giving way to insanity, caused him to grin a little, which made the Sadist grasp his throat tightly and growl menacingly at him.

_Ah,_ he thought, completely off his rocker by now, _I can hear death riding here now, in his black chariot..._

Oddly enough, Haruka heard it, too. The Sadist's head lifted, eyes darting around the enclosure. The white irises appeared confused, concerned.

"What's that rumbling?" she asked, dropping the genjutsu. The noise she heard sounded like thunder, but it was much more rhythmic and constant than any normal thunderstorm would sound. It grew closer, and the earth began shaking. Fragments of the houses began falling down on them.

Haruka was on her feet in an instant, running to escape the final collapse of the two buildings above them. She dragged her prisoner with her, intending to finish her inquiry whether he was sane or not. Ducking and dodging her way around falling chunks of roof tile, wood, and stone, she was outside in open air within seconds. Her captive, however, was not so lucky, and was struck dead by the stone chimney that had shaken loose and tumbled down behind her.

"NO!" she yelled at whatever gods were listening. "Damn it, I wasn't finished yet! Is the word of a traitor all you're going to let me have?"

Her only answer was in the form of a final, booming crack of thundering noise, accompanied by the shattering of yet another section of the village barricades. Haruka was forced to duck behind a fallen pillar to avoid being struck by rock shrapnel.

"What the hell is that?" she asked as the noise died back down. Lifting her head over her sanctuary, she looked with an annoyed expression at where the section of wall used to be. What she saw made her expression of annoyance disappear.

"Oh."

An entire army stood within a hundred yards of her. An army wearing Cloud headbands.

OoOoOoOo "Oh, crap!" no jutsu! End of Chapter Seven oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **A whole slew of new problems has erupted for our protagonists. In times like these, I like to add... (insert guesses at what I'm thinking here).


	9. Interlude: Keisuke's Author Notes

**A/N(Lifethane's, not Keisuke's): **You were probably expecting more action in this chapter, but I beg of you, do not kill me for not fulfilling that expectation. The next chapter, which should come within the next three days, will supply you with plenty of it.

Now, for you philosophy majors, behold:

**Frederich Nietzsche no Jutsu!**

**Interlude: Keisuke's Author Notes**

_The following are notes included in the finalized version of the Uzumaki Chronicles: War of the Eyes. It is unclear exactly when they were written, or even if they were intended to be included in the book. However, the perceptions and subsequent thoughts of the author revolve around several key aspects of the story and take into account some of the shadier, less certain details, and are therefore relevant to the Records. As such, the full document below has been added whether the author intended it to be or not. Don't worry, though, because this is a last-minute addition performed by a skilled shinobi editor and the author will be unable to find evidence to convict a target for his wrath, should he take offense to it._

_--Editor_

OoOoOoOoOoO

((Date Unspecified))

I'm writing this early, early in the morning, at the time when my near-insufferable nurse is least active. Normally, I'm not much concerned about her reading over my shoulder—hell, she's the one helping me write it, half the time—but this document, though I began with the story in mind, has become something apart from the tale itself that I'd rather not have influenced by her way of thinking. Though her care of me during my incapacitation has been marvelously effective (if somewhat loud and rough), I feel that this is something I must see to on my own. Once finished, I'll figure out whether or not to add it to the story at a later time.

Let us assume that someone other than myself is reading this. There are a couple of somethings that this person would need to know before taking a brief dive into my mind. The first one is the fact that I'm writing this story as it's being told to me for the first time. Yes, of course Naruto immediately launched into tall tales the moment I showed any sign of responsiveness in the hospital, but a lot of that was lost on me in my half-unconscious state and the rest of it was either forgotten in the pain of the much-too-tight Hyuuga hug that followed my awakening or too wild and unbelievable to trust without verification by another member of the team. The other something is that though my typist's skills are slowly improving to the point where I might never need eyes to catch errors, I am still not perfect, so please forgive me if I make a few mistakes. ((_I fixed your mistakes for you, you Sightless Freak. --Editor.))_

As a result of the first something, I am as clueless as the people who will read the story as to what will be happening next. Therefore, these are the thoughts of a questioning reader, put onto paper in an attempt to make sense of some greater mystery for oneself. Read on, if you don't mind reading some things that you've already read before.

The first—and probably the most important—subject I feel that I have to give thought to is the enigma of Uchiha Sasuke. This person is quite possibly the most difficult character to write about, due in large part to the fact that he did not return with the rest of the group and therefore cannot give any testimony as to what happened. Neji was with him much of the time, but Neji is no mind-reader, and so the inner workings of the infamous traitor's brain will probably never be revealed. I know that I should be at least somewhat thankful to him, since his actions led, ultimately, to my freedom, but I cannot help but think how courageous my rescuers were to put their trust in him. I might not ever be able to understand him, but for the sake of curiosity, I'm going to make an effort.

Let's review what we know—not think, not speculate, but truly _know—_about Uchiha Sasuke. He was born into the shinobi Clan that was supposedly the strongest in Konoha. At a young age, he was orphaned when his older brother, Uchiha Itachi, murdered every last member of his clan and family, himself and Sasuke excluded. At the age of twelve, he graduated the shinobi Academy at the top of his class, was assigned to a four-man cell including Naruto and Sakura-san and led by the Jounin, Hatake Kakashi. A short time later, he and his team took the Chuunin examination where, according to Sakura-san, he received a cursed seal upon his neck that was capable of giving him great power at the risk of his health. A while later, he left Konoha—after defeating Naruto and then sparing his life—to seek more of that power from its source—the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru. Three years later, he returned and challenged Naruto to single combat again, and was defeated and consequently captured. He now bargains for his life with information valuable to his captors.

Most of the things that I've just described seem to indicate—as Sasuke himself has said—that he has defined his purpose in life as the destruction of his murdering older brother, Itachi. His drive to gain power for that purpose is evident from his academy scores and from his seeking Orochimaru even at the cost of his life. Even his challenge to Naruto three years later was "a way to gain and measure power" in comparison to his old rival. One must take into consideration the possibility that he had planned to try to take Konoha's side against Orochimaru if Naruto, the penultimate loser, had been able to gain more power from Konoha than he, the top of the class, had gained from the Sannin, as that would suit his quest for power. He goes where the power goes, until he deems himself powerful enough to fulfill his purpose.

From behavioral patterns observed by Naruto and others just before and after his defection, he appears to understand his existence through this purpose alone. If this is true, then the ones who walk with him have to be constantly thinking about the situation: _What, in this situation, suits Sasuke's ultimate purpose? _It's obvious that it suits his purpose to live, or else he wouldn't have made a deal with his interrogator.

But why did he continue to allow himself to be led around by Neji and the rest of the team? At the time of the attack on the neutral village, he'd had several days to recover his energy and, in the confusion, might have been strong enough to make a decent try at escaping, despite having Neji and Kiba with him. Yet he chose to be dragged around as Haruka might drag me out of a garbage can after I've had one too many drinks. Did he believe that he still wasn't strong enough to get away, or did it suit his purpose in some way to stay with his captors for now? And if it's the latter, then in _what way_ did staying suit his purpose?

And this raises a much more potent and charged question, one that must have plagued the team's brains all night, every night: At what point would cooperating with his captors _stop_ suiting his purpose? How they found the grit to shake off that uncertainty boggles my mind, but apparently they did it, somehow. Purpose can be a powerful and terrible drive.

There is, however, a philosophy that a man I knew long, long ago preached fervently. This man preached many things, in actuality, and I can think of one or two more that are relevant to the story, but one in particular seems as though it was taught especially with Uchiha Sasuke in mind. That philosophy stipulates that purpose is ultimately lacking.

Of course, we all give ourselves over to different causes at different times when necessity calls for it; when a fire starts in a heavily populated area, a brave soul might decide that he will act as a firefighter, rescue personnel, or first aid provider, whether they have been trained to do such things or not. But when someone begins to affiliate who they are with a purpose, when they incorporate that purpose into their fundamental being, they restrict themselves. A person who identifies himself as a firefighter, and understands his existence through that purpose, will spend his life living to find and put out fires, and never experience the world beyond fires. While this restriction is good to have in a professional situation—you don't want to be thinking about your girlfriend while flames are consuming the building around you, for example—to spend all of one's life in one role is hardly gratifying, in my view.

Sasuke and—to a lesser degree—Naruto have both been swept up in the fault of purpose. By devoting himself entirely to the death of Itachi, Sasuke has deprived himself of friendship, love, and family, the very things which he is trying to avenge. Naruto has a burning desire to become the Hokage, and will settle for nothing less. They've both had their share of repercussions from it; Sasuke's faults are obvious, and Naruto was a loser for much of his life. The difference is that Naruto was able to keep an open mind, and allowed himself to enjoy life as much as possible while improving himself, even sticking his toe in the waters of love. In the end, it was Sasuke who lost.

But I'm going somewhere else with this, beyond the explanation of Uchiha's defeat. As consumed in his purpose as he is, there is evidence that the dark one has at least recognized his error, even if he's failed to do anything about it. The fact that he did not kill Naruto three years ago stands out to me; Naruto clearly intended to get in his way, which would have interfered with his quest for power. Yes, he might have wanted to save him to measure himself against later on, but there are always other shinobi to compare himself to. This suggests, to me, that at that time he realized what he was doing, and was briefly unable to totally and completely adhere to his purpose. Also, Neji's confusion regarding Sasuke's behavior after being alone with Naruto may have had something to do with this repeated realization.

Of course, these are only possibilities that I'm just throwing out there. It might be that Sasuke didn't recognize the barrier presented by his purpose at all, in which case we can assume that at some point his purpose was no longer served by being with Naruto and the team, and he left. This would have implied that Uchiha Sasuke was the same criminal inside that he was on the outside, but his betrayal would have been expected and therefore the conditions were not beyond some measure of control.

But if he did recognize that his purpose was lacking, what then? It's not possible to know, and so his actions become completely unpredictable. The question I want to ask is this: is an Uchiha Sasuke who recognizes the one major error of his life more or less dangerous than one who doesn't? Unfortunately, the only way I'll ever know the answer to that question is if the story I'm writing winds up featuring the former type. If it does, I'll be able to see just how dangerous this unpredictable Uchiha is compared to the latter type, which is more calculable. Most likely, we will be able to see which kind of Sasuke we're dealing with when Orochimaru re-enters the picture.

Orochimaru. His presence in a place completely changes everything, usually in a complicated and sinister fashion. He is able to do this because he is so adept at delving into people's hearts and minds, learning what makes them tick and then bending their natures to his will. He used this skill to turn Sasuke's purpose to his own advantage, as well as to cause heavy emotional and physical pain—much to my misfortune. His masterful manipulation of political leaders serves him also, bringing war upon the land between all five of the great shinobi nations and their respective allies.

The Snake Sannin is a man who understands and uses the theory of causality to great effect. This is another of the philosophies which I learned before my frozen entombment. The idea is that free will is an illusion; all people have existential natures that predetermine their choices and actions in a given situation. Knowing and understanding these natures can give one the ability to manipulate a person as one chooses. This philosophy has its supporters and its opponents all over the world. Neji was once a proponent of this philosophy, until Naruto, who is a huge believer in the power of a person's free will to change and grow for the better, convinced him otherwise.

For myself, I'm unsure what to believe. Orochimaru had me under his thumb for a long time, and during that time I quailed under the realization that he could do whatever he wanted to me and I would be powerless to stop him, because he had seen through me and knew my nature. But the events that led up to my rescue and freedom gave me cause to challenge it, and so I can't bring myself to come to a conclusion yet. Like a scientist who can't consider anything proved with only one trial, I need more data.

So I think, while I write this story, I'll make note of the events which influenced the beliefs of others. Uchiha Sasuke will be a prime example; if his free will overcomes both the restriction of his purpose and the manipulations of Orochimaru, it will be a severe blow to the theory of causality. There is also the interesting matter of the Cloud shinobi, Ayaka, who seems to be in the midst of some odd inner struggle, and Inuzuka Kiba, who has had to come to terms with a horrible accident. Let's not forget Haruka, either, since her character is a psychologist's playground. ((_There'll be retribution for that remark.)) _

And, of course, there is the story of Naruto and Hinata-chan, who are the greatest young examples of free will's triumph in their generation.

Something just crashed in the kitchen. That means the woman is awake, so I have to finish this and hide it quickly. Whether I want it published or not, if she gets her hands on it, it won't be under my control. Since I've come back to this house, there hasn't been a single damned aspect of my life that she hasn't tried to take over... ((_You haven't realized it yet, but I didn't fail, either.))_

OoOoOoOo Philosopher-Silencing Jutsu! End Interlude oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **What's going to happen to Haruka in the face of the newly-arrived Cloud army? Where has Shino gone? How will the team find them both and prevent the village's total destruction? Writing the story, will Keisuke begin to lean towards one conclusion or the other?

Honestly, even I don't know. But I will very soon, since I have nothing better to do than to think about where this story is going.


	10. C8: Challenge

**A/N: **So it's come down to my final two months at home, meaning that my time to write this story is running out. I'm going to have to push up my pace a little bit, probably to around three chapters a week. If I don't finish this now, you guys may need to wait several months for the finish of War of the Eyes, and I know for a fact that you don't want that.

Everything else is looking great; Mom and Grandpa are on the mend from their respective ailments, and I have plenty of time for physical conditioning, so I'll be more than ready for training come February. If I really apply myself to it, I should have no problem getting this done on schedule.

Ready, set...

**Chapter Eight: Challenge  
**

Insects can be marvelously efficient life-forms. The Kikai bugs, for example, are single-minded in the tasks that they are given, and are immune to fear. They can eat through a variety of materials—chakra included—as well as detect light and sound on a spectrum that humans cannot, making them excellent lookouts. Also among their fascinating abilities is the power to track an enemy by following the scent of one of their hive that has landed on that enemy.

Shino made use of all of these abilities on a regular basis. This very moment, in fact, he was using their lookout capabilities and their tracking power simultaneously. He had thrown the shuriken at the boy, Hikaru, for two reasons. The first, of course, had been to disrupt the killing jutsu that had been aimed at Sakura. The second purpose had to do with a conversation that Shino had had with Neji just after the skirmish in the waterfall cavern...

"_They will come again," Neji said. "They will keep coming until they have what they came for. We don't know what kind of power or trickery they have backing them up, so it is possible that they may be successful after a few attempts, or possibly even the next attempt."_

_Shino nodded. The Hyuuga Jounin had always had a good head on his shoulders, and he still had one now. His own instincts agreed with everything that Neji said._

"_Hinata-sama appears to be their target," Neji went on. "As one of her guard, as well as her cousin, I won't allow her to be taken. I want you to help me take preventative measures."_

"_What kind of preventative measures do you mean?" Shino asked, keeping his voice down. He and Neji both knew that if Naruto heard of this, he would want to do it himself, and while he had undoubtedly improved in many areas, he was a ninja more suited to cure than to prevention. _

"_Did you manage to put a bug on either of the attackers?" Neji asked._

"_No," Shino replied. "The powerful pesticide produced by the female prevented any of my insects from reaching them as they ran."_

_The Jyuuken master's face betrayed no sign of dismay; he had either expected that response based on the accounts he had been given or he was simply as disciplined as was needed to keep a cool head in the situation. Rather than lose heart, he acted as a true leader and followed the situation to the next step. _

"_The next time they appear," Neji told him, "Put a bug on one of them as soon as possible. You'll be able to follow them if they run, and then you might capture one of them when they are off their guard, or at least learn something about their intentions."_

So when the shuriken had stuck itself in Hikaru's arm, it had brought more than pain to the light-haired youth. The female Kikai bug had nestled down in his clothing, emitting the silent signals that only her male counterparts could detect. Shino now followed these signals as his insects picked them up, entrusting the search for Neji and Kiba to their other teammates. Sakura had as good a guess of where to look for them as he himself did, and he was certain that Neji, in the same situation, would rather have him pursue the Cloud team as well.

The living hive passed through the makeshift tunnel that ran under the south barricade, noting the dry smoothness of the surfaces inside—it had obviously been created by wind erosion. Also astounding was the distance that the enemy had covered in so short a time. This third shinobi in the blue robe was definitely powerful. Shino felt he would need to fully exercise his stealth capabilities to be able to enter and leave their camp safely, and capturing any of them would be out of the question if the wind user was anywhere nearby.

He followed the trail of the female bug southward into the blasted, rocky area where the buzzards slept. Here Shino found that the trio had rested for a little while; there was a collection of disturbed dust and random footprints near one of the spires. The scent of the bug had been fairly weak going from the exit of the tunnel to this point, since they had run so quickly that the signal had been dispersed in the air. Here, though, it became stronger as they stopped, and remained strong as Shino pressed on—their pace had slowed past this point. Sensing an opportunity to catch up, he increased his speed.

Eventually, after another two kilometers, Shino's search took him out of the rocky badlands and into a forested area which ran uphill towards the mountain's peak. He could see snow drifts only a few hundred meters up. He began to slow his pace, both to conserve energy and out of concern that the search would end soon. The group was fast, but they would not run much farther and be able to catch up with Neji's group when they left. And if they were stopped nearby, moving too quickly might cause him to blunder straight into their camp.

The bugs told him that Hikaru was not far away now. The scent was growing stronger. Shino withdrew a kunai from his equipment bag, preparing to fight his way out of any traps that may have been set.

However, before he caught sight of his target, the bugs gave a sudden warning: There was a human behind the brush at his four o'clock! Immediately, Shino slowed to a halt, coming to rest with his back against a massive tree. Silently, he asked the bugs to provide him with details about the human. It wasn't Hikaru, for the scent of the female bug continued for some distance. Was it the wind master, then? The bugs answered that the details were blurry, that water was confusing the sensory input. Whoever it was was in some body of water.

Carefully, silently, Shino scaled the great tree and looked down beyond the bushes. He couldn't see a person there, but a stream was running downhill from the mountain peak, which explained the water. Also, there was a pile of clothing laying just within his line of sight, at the edge of the stream. Whoever was out here was bathing in the mountain water, then. They must have been doing it on the opposite side of the tree from him, as well, since their clothes were nearby and he could not see them on either side of him. But who was it? Focusing his vision in the dark, he struggled to examine the pile of clothing on the stream's bank.

The clothing was simple, for the most part, but in the pile Shino could see a massive black cloak. In that instance, he knew that he was dealing not with the wind master, but with the female plant user, Ayaka.

This seemed to be bad news for him. Because she was female and bathing and her two teammates were male, she was likely to be alone, so he could not eavesdrop on any important conversations. Capturing her would be easier in the vulnerable state that she was in, but as professional as Shino was, he was not asexual or a cur; his perception of the rules of good conduct prevented him from attacking a naked unarmed woman.

No, he would be unable to do anything beneficial to the team in this situation. It would be best to continue pursuing the loud-mouthed, less careful Hikaru. He leaped down from the tree, ordering his bugs to pursue the scent again, but as he touched the ground and prepared to run again, a voice called out to him.

"Stop there, Aburame Shino."

It was the voice of the woman shinobi. She had detected him! What was going to happen now? Hikaru was probably very near, and she could easily call to him for assistance, which could lead to the wind master joining the fray... And if the wind user was nearby, defeat would be assured. It seemed that his reconnaissance sortie was compromised. But Shino stood silent and still, waiting and listening for the consequences of his carelessness.

But Ayaka did not call out to her teammate. She did not say anything at all for a long moment. Shino could not hear movement, but with skills such as hers, she could likely move silently even through the running water. Suddenly he had an idea? Had her command to halt simply been a ploy to give herself time to dress, so she might fight him herself?

But eventually she spoke again, saying, "I had thought that the Hyuuga would send one of you after us—if not you personally, then the dog and his master, at least. The branch members are predictable, protecting their charges aggressively."

One of Shino's bugs came back from around the tree and reported that Ayaka was still in the water. This confused him greatly. Why was she not taking steps to jeopardize him? Something was amiss here. Then he remembered what she had said to him earlier, as she had glided away from the cliffs...

"_I hope one day to fight you on a more level playing field." _

Was this what it was about? Did she want to fight him here and now, personally?

"You are alone and unarmed," he said, hoping to bluff her. "If you will not answer my questions, I will kill you and move on to your teammates."

"I expect I won't be alone very long," she said. "My teammate, Hikaru, is juvenile, foolish, and perverted. At any moment he may arrive in a nearby tree to peer down at me. What would you do then, Aburame?"

There was no emotion in her voice as she spoke. Instead she was cool and logical, much as he was. Shino understood why Naruto did not get along very well with him at times; being logically refuted was cause for annoyance. However, he had much more patience than his orange-clothed comrade, and was not about to lose his cool so easily.

"I have observed both your fighting style and your teammates'," he countered, "And by your own admission, the juvenile's effectiveness is greatly reduced in dark places like this. Also, you are away from your cloak, which I have observed holds the seeds that you use to grow your weapons. In this situation, I have a clear advantage even against both of you. Unless your teammate in the blue robe is also nearby, I see no reason for me to be afraid."

"Yes... if Kouhei was near enough, you would undoubtedly be killed, but he is not here," Ayaka admitted, much to Shino's surprise. Was she serious?

"If you are not lying," he said, "Then you will yield to my questioning?"

"I know your clan, Aburame," came her reply, "And I know that they are a people of rules and of honorable conduct. You would not attack me in my defenseless state, unless I initiated combat myself. I am in no danger if I do not answer to you."

Naruto would have snapped at this point. Shino's eyebrows narrowed in frustration; the woman was right, and though he was more patient than Naruto, there would not be much else that he could do if she did not start talking now.

"How do you know my clan?" he asked, deciding to play her game. "There has been no record of our involvement with any clan of plant-users in our logs."

"Ah," Ayaka said, "So they did not record it after all. Practical, considering how silently and quickly it fell apart. So quiet as to be insignificant..."

"You are stalling for time, telling me this to placate me while you wait for your captain to return," Shino accused.

"No, I am not," Ayaka rejoined in an annoyed tone of her own. "Though if I wanted you dead immediately, that would be logical. Your immediate death by Kouhei's hand, however, would not be satisfactory to me. Not with the vendetta between myself and your clan."

Shino was about to ask what this "vendetta" was—he had never heard of such a thing—but Ayaka was not finished speaking.

"I will tell you nothing that you do not already know, or will not figure out for yourself, Aburame Shino. My comrades and I have been ordered to capture Hyuuga Hinata alive, as well as the Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto."

Shino almost could not contain his surprise at the mention of his blond-haired friend. What did Naruto have to do with the Cloud's designs? How had she expected them to figure that out for themselves?

"I can understand why you would be after Hinata," he said, "Taking into account the fact that your village has desired the Byakugan for years. But why are you trying to capture Naruto?"

"That, I could not tell you if I were willing to. You would need to ask our client."

_Their client?_ Shino wondered. If they had not been given this mission by the superiors in their village, then who was it that would have hired them for this? Akatsuki, he knew, was after Naruto, but they would have little use for Hinata. Much thought would be required to unravel this tangled web.

He did not have time to do the thinking here, however, as five kunai suddenly landed around him in a pentagon shape. Every one of them had something attached to it, which Shino was certain must have been special tags. He was caught in Hikaru's killing ninjutsu.

"I've got you now, bug-bastard!" yelled the boy from above, forming the necessary seals. "Nobody peeks on Ayaka-chan but me! **Ninpou: Go Inkenraikou! **(Secret Art: Five Treacherous Lightnings)"

Five bolts of electricity, each one colored differently, struck the body of Shino straight in the chest and back. Hikaru crowed in wild triumph as the body vaporized in a flash of red, blue, yellow, brown, and white light. Jumping down, he stuck his foot into the ashes, grinding them into the ground.

"HA HA!!" he yelled. "Aburame this, Aburame that... looks like he wasn't anything at all, in the end! I win!! No walking hive is better than..."

His words suddenly cut themselves off as a flight of insects zoomed up around his head and winged away into the night. He slapped at them wildly as a few of them nibbled at his eyes and ears. However, not a single one was hit, and within seconds they were all far beyond his reach. Enraged, he stamped the ground. When he looked at what he had stomped on, his rage grew. The "ashes" were actually a small collection of insect corpses.

"So the Aburame is nothing, is he?" said Ayaka. She stood over him now, fully clothed and looking amused. "He seems to be quite good, since he foiled the Mighty Hikaru's ultimate attack with a simple Mushi Bunshin."

Hikaru merely fumed, staring at the ground where the "bug bastard" had been. Ayaka looked up into the night sky, her face a mask of ice.

_But as good as you are, you will die in the end, Aburame, and I will be the cause. _

OoOoOoOoOoO

When alone and face to face with an entire legion of skilled shinobi, there is a certain set of prescribed logical responses listed by the textbooks for shinobi to follow. At the top of the list is the option that most shinobi in their right minds would choose: run away, and fast. Of course, there are certain situations in which it is impossible to run away. In these situations, your response can vary depending on the battlefield situation. If you know there are allies running to catch up with you, a smart option is to hide. If hiding is impossible or there are no nearby allies to come to the rescue, and are not in possession of a powerful weapon capable of massive damage to the enemy, it is a wise choice to destroy yourself rather than be taken alive, for the enemy may gain much through your capture.

On the other hand, if you _are_ in possession of a mighty weapon, then the book offers you the option to hurl yourself at the enemy, using the weapon to inflict heavy casualties before you are killed. Haruka had no material weapons other than her own body. However, she had a temper and a drive to win that was more potent than ten crates full of exploding tags. All that was needed was to light the fuse.

The enemy had a force of four hundred Cloud chuunin and one hundred and thirty-five Cloud jounin, all of them trained for large-scale combat operations. These shinobi were at home in mountainous regions; the terrain favored them. Behind them were approximately fifteen-hundred soldiers bearing the standard of the Lightning Country. Behind those were catapult crews—the same ones, apparently, that had blown the hole in the wall.

At the head of this large company was a short, dark-haired jounin attended by a single chuunin, who followed behind him reverently, as though he were in the presence of god, though the chuunin was easily a foot or more taller than him. The lead jounin's sharp, beady black eyes surveyed the area before him, taking note of the current amount of damage to the town—it wouldn't be worth taking if it wasn't going to be intact by the end of the battle—as well as the apparent number of enemies inside.

And he took note of one more thing: a female lying prone behind a fallen pillar, peering up at his legion with silver eyes and engorged veins.

"Oh?" he said, cracking a smile. "How lucky are we? Our first opponent is a Hyuuga."

"Oh, we are extremely lucky, Boss!" chirped his attendant. The tall chuunin seemed very enthusiastic for his superior.

"Indeed, we are lucky," responded the Boss. "We have never had the opportunity to capture a Hyuuga alive. After the last mishap twelve years ago, the most we have ever accomplished was cheating them out of a corpse! And of course, we were unable to glean any secrets from it, because the villains had tampered with it. But now..."

Listening from below, Haruka knew that it was time to leave. She might have been battle-crazy, but she was nowhere near stupid, and she knew a hopeless fight when she saw one. She'd have to come back after she had regrouped with Naruto and the others. She pushed herself out of her inadequate hiding place and took off at a dead sprint away from the enemy.

The Boss gave a little chuckle as his advance guard cut her off. Four elite jounin flashed in front of her, brandishing all manner of weapons. One tall, tan-skinned man with long black hair and a cross-shaped scar on his cheek held a long katana poised over Haruka's head. Another man with shorter brown hair and frosty blue eyes held tonfa at the ready behind her. A pair of twins—one male and one female, both with oddly luminous purple hair and pale white skin—each gripped one of Haruka's arms with one hand, while holding the other fist extended towards her neck. The fists might not have seemed very threatening had they not been wearing wicked, glove-mounted knives. The female wore straight, razor-sharp blades on both hands, while the male wore a single serrated blade on the fist at Haruka's throat and steel knuckles on the other. Caught in the center of these four elites, there was nowhere for the once-outcast Hyuuga to run.

"I'm afraid that you won't be escaping, lady Hyuuga," called the boss. "Though it wasn't our original mission to capture you, a live Hyuuga will be a fine trophy, worth a considerable amount of honor. I suggest that you relax and allow yourself to come with us quietly, for all of our sakes."

Haruka looked around her with wide eyes. One moment, she had been fleeing at top speed. The next, she was caught, without having been tricked or trapped, but merely outrun and out-muscled. How did this happen? Never mind, she knew: these were the attacking army's finest shock troops, fresh from their camp, and while she was herself a very capable fighter, she had walked a considerable distance and fought in a major battle in the same day. So on top of being outnumbered and outclassed, she had less energy.

_Damn it!_ She thought. _I should have run the moment the wall blew instead of sitting here gawking aat them!_

"Well, Hyuuga-sama?" called the Boss, mockingly. "Will you surrender, or is your clan's famed sense of pride forbidding you from even speaking to us low-lives?"

Haruka's lips pulled themselves back in a snarl. This man was really irritating, and there wasn't a god damned thing that she could do about it. She would now be separated from Naruto and the others, carted off to Kumogakure no Sato, cut up and experimented on so that the Cloud could try to obtain the Byakugan that they had failed to get from Hyuuga Hizashi. She would spend the rest of her life chained to an operating table, like Keisuke had so many years ago and probably was now...

She could imagine it: the eyeless one screaming to the merciless heavens while he was slowly turned inside out and cut to ribbons. No sound came from the vocal chords that had long ago worn themselves out, but she could read the words that his lips formed. _Haruka! Help me!_

On her own table, she reached her arm towards him, trying futilely to close the distance. But then, her arm was gone. She could no longer see it, because her own eyes, her brilliant silver eyes, had been removed. Haruka could do nothing to help Keisuke, because she was as blind and as powerless as he was.

This outcome was unacceptable.

"You..." she said, feeling rage bubble up from inside. Chakra flooded her core, pulsing in her heart and in her forehead, where the Caged Bird Seal—rendered fundamentally changed by Keisuke years ago—tinted it with sick, yellow color. The elite jounin surrounding her tensed as they sensed the fighting energy in her, and the twins tightened their grip on her arms. Their strength, however, was insignificant next to the strength of the Sadist's anger, and as Haruka heaved herself into an accelerating spin, they found themselves unable to hold her. Eventually, the force became so great that they could no longer hold _onto_ her, and they went sailing through the air away from her.

"Bastards!" Haruka yelled as they crashed into separate piles of wreckage.

The Boss looked on with amusement as the action unfolded. He had expected the Hyuuga to put up resistance—their pride could only take so much, after all. Watching, he saw Haruka increase her Kaiten's speed and power dramatically, until the radius engulfed the two buildings on either side of her. The male twin was too slow and got caught by the growing blast, which hurled him away several hundred yards. He did not come back. The female was quicker, and escaped. The man with the katana and the one with the tonfa both were able to leap clear of the Kaiten, but the man with the tonfa was struck by a massive load of debris from the nearby burning house that had been hurled his direction by the maelstrom. He was knocked aside and half-buried beneath it.

The two fighters that remained stayed clear of the whirlwind, waiting for Haruka to emerge from it. They waited for almost ten seconds before the enormous yellow-tinted chakra finally began to decrease in force. Gripping their weapons, they took opposite sides of her as they anticipated the woman's follow-up attack or flight.

However, when the winds finally eased up to the point where they could see the eye of the storm, it was not a mortal woman that they saw; it was an angry female demon. Molten silver pupils radiated a sense of killing lust that accentuated its aura of illness and instability. The detestable seal on its forehead blazed with yellow murder. The image was intricately crafted to inspire fear, and it did its job well among the onlookers; even the Boss himself momentarily succumbed, taken by surprise at this sudden display of volatile rage.

It looked out at them for only a heartbeat before it moved, aiming straight for the katana-wielder. Paralyzed with fright, the man did not react in time to stop the straight thrust of chakra that slammed into his heart. The vital blood-pumping organ crumpled against the angry blast, and its owner likewise crumpled, dead before he hit the ground. The demon screamed in vengeful triumph before turning on the female twin.

The new target was less afflicted by the fear, and was able to move. As she dodged the first lethal attack, she wondered what the Hyuuga woman had done to acquire such strength so suddenly. When she and her comrades had gone after her initially, the Hyuuga had been nowhere near this fast or strong. What fueled this angry power? In her wonder, the purple-haired one made a decisive mistake in her footwork, nearly tripping over stray rubble and being forced to parry the next Jyuuken thrust rather than dodge it. Crisscrossing her blades in front of her, she intercepted the incoming palm one foot away from her chest.

The demon capitalized on her mistake, however. With its free hand, it jabbed a point on her shoulder, which caused that arm to drop limply to her side, its chakra flow cut off. Pained, the girl attempted a sweeping counterattack with her remaining hand-blade, but the demon ducked underneath and kicked her legs out from underneath her. As she tried to break her fall with her other arm, the demon jabbed that shoulder, too, rendering the second arm useless. The girl fell face-first to the ground, struggling to get to her feet.

But the Hyuuga demon didn't let her get up. It slammed its foot down on the base of her spine, shattering it.

The Boss, now over his fear, appeared to be unconcerned, though the loss of four of his elite guard was a near-inexcusable loss that his superiors would be loath to hear about. His chuunin attendant looked mortified, but he chose to ignore that; the whelp was fresh to war, anyway, and would eventually get used to seeing this kind of thing. Even so, this had gone far enough.

"All right, Hyuuga-sama," he called down, "Are you quite done? You've had a good amount of fun, there, but I still have an army at my back. It's time to come along, now."

The demon, Haruka, growled at him as she began walking slowly and purposefully towards the broken wall. He gave a hearty laugh. This was just too entertaining!

"Planning on killing me now, hmm? Well, we can't have that, of course. Let's see how strong you are when you have an entire legion at your throat. All units, engage! Capture the Hyuuga alive!"

There is no clear record of the exact events that followed the boss's command to attack. No surviving Cloud or Lightning Country forces have come forward to testify, and Haruka herself was too busy fighting to remember who, how many, and how she killed. Later, a body count was done within a fifty yard radius of the hole in the barricade in an effort to estimate the number of the angered Sadist's victims. The Sand forces conducting the investigation found a total of fifty-two dead and fifteen maimed into immobility within that radius. Among that number were seven confirmed jounin, as well as the infamous Cloud general known affectionately among his troops as "Boss."

Haruka stood over the dead body of the Boss, growling, snarling, and spitting at the mass of soldiers and shinobi that struggled to seize her. She flailed her tainted chakra in all directions, striking whoever and whatever was within range. She would not surrender to them. Hyuuga Haruka, proud Captain of the Hyuuga Guard, would never surrender, and she would never die. Not until a blind relic was free of Orochimaru's hold.

But the sea of enemies, incensed over the death of their leader, was about to literally drown her. The fear-inducing genjutsu that she had projected around herself had now faded, and her three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision had become blurred. The one thing that she could see with any distinction was the face of the tall chuunin attendant, his eyes wild with grief and anger, as he swung his fist at her.

And as she at last fell to the ground, her vision on the verge of blacking out completely, the young man's face became the face of a weathered shinobi with no eyes, which cried out soundlessly to her...

"_Help me!"_

_I tried, Keisuke. I really tried..._

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"What the hell was that?!" Naruto yelled. "I thought the Sound were beat!"

He and the others had just seen and heard the flash-BANG of the third collapsing wall. It had flashed before it had banged—a burst of bright white light that lit the village like a sun—and the noise had been much like the crack of a thunderbolt. Shouts of surprise, inquiry, and command were being thrown back and forth among the Sand forces around them.

"The Sound didn't come with siege engines like those," Neji reasoned, "Or they would have used them at the very beginning."

"The Sound never had siege weapons," Sasuke said from the ground. "They've always relied on their allies for those capabilities. And the Rock did not go this way to Konoha."

Neji gave the prisoner a hard stare, clearly desiring him to shut up. Few could blame him, as the Uchiha's comments could easily distract the team when they should have been focusing on the events at hand. Naruto, though, accepted the information he offered.

"Okay," he said, "So it's not Sound. Oy, you Sand guys! That wasn't one of yours, was it?"

A passing Sand jounin confirmed the negative. The blast hadn't been caused by either them or the Sound forces. Teams had already been dispatched to see who the culprit had been.

"Damn it, then who the hell was it?!" Naruto wondered vehemently.

"Could it have been the Hidden Mist?" Sakura asked. "Ibiki-san said that Orochimaru might have recruited them to his side."

Everyone gave a nod of approval to that thought, with the exception of Hinata and Sasuke. The latter simply lay in his bonds, watching events play out in a bored-looking fashion. Hinata, a concerned look on her face, glanced in Neji and Sakura's direction.

"I don't think it's the Mist, if the attack is coming from that direction," she said.

"Hmm? What do you mean, Hinata?" Naruto asked, causing her to turn to him. He could hear the worry in her voice as well as perceive it in her expression. Something about this was really getting to her.

"Hey," he asked, "What's wrong?"

"I think I know what Hinata means," Neji said. "The attack came from the northern part of the wall. To come up here, the shortest route that the Mist could take would be through the southeast, the same way we and the Sand came. If that were the case, then the Sand would have had plenty of warning beforehand."

"So it isn't Sand, Sound, Rock, or Mist," said Naruto. "There's no way Tsunade Baa-chan would send any of our guys here yet, not so soon after the attack. That only leaves..."

"...the Cloud." Hinata finished. She looked positively sick with worry, and for good reason; the village that they now knew was actively seeking her out had sent their entire army down here.

"Huh?" Kiba asked suddenly. He'd been silent a long time, withdrawn into himself in wake of his horrible experience. But at the mention of one of his precious friends' worst enemies, he temporarily woke up to action.

"Cloud military? Here? No way!!" he yelled. "Hinata, we've got to get you out of here!"

"I agree," Neji said quickly. "It is extremely dangerous to keep Hinata-sama here. If their strike force discovers her, they will attack relentlessly until she is captured or killed. We need to leave here now."

"Hey, hey! What about Shino and Haruka?" Naruto asked. "Are we just going to leave them behind?"

"Shino is safe," Neji said. "He is doing something that I asked him to outside of the village. He should meet us before morning."

Naruto stared at him a moment before deciding to trust him.

"Then, what about nee-chan?"

Sasuke surprised everybody by saying, "If it suits your needs, then leave her. If you leave here now, then even though you left one or two behind, the mission can still succeed.

Everyone was quiet for a long moment. Naruto had rounded on the Uchiha and was glaring at him with terrible anger in his eyes. Sakura kept her head down while Neji kept a tight hold on Sasuke's bonds. Hinata looked on, unsure how to defuse the situation. Kiba simply stared and prepared for the worst.

"You were on Kakashi-sensei's team," Naruto began, grating out each sound, "And you're telling me you don't remember the very first thing he taught us? Damn you to hell, Sasuke! 'Those who break the rules are lower than garbage...'"

"'But those who abandon their comrades are even lower than that.' I remember it well enough, Naruto," Sasuke said.

"Then what the hell are you doing, trying to get me to leave Shino and Haruka nee-chan behind?" Naruto was red-faced and fuming now. Hinata wanted to reach out and calm him down, but Sakura intervened, putting her arm on the Hyuuga girl's shoulder—this was between two bitter rivals, and Sakura had learned that in situations like these there was only so much that a girl could do.

Sasuke glared back at Naruto, saying, "If you want to be Hokage, Naruto, then you need to realize that at some point you need to stop blindly following the philosophies of others and adapt them to your life. If you never challenge anything, you will never understand how the world around you works. You want to survive this battle? Run away now. Following after the Hyuuga woman will only get you killed."

The glaring contest continued for another long moment. Naruto bared and grit his teeth in anger, and his eyelids clenched shut as he tried to get a hold on his emotions. Finally, he stopped trying to hold them down, and released them.

"Damn it!!" he yelled. "I'm not going to let you drag me down this way! Even if I lose my life, I'm going to find Haruka nee-chan. You guys can run if you want, but I'm staying."

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata started fearfully. He was the same proud and brave young man she loved, but this was the part about him that tended to get him into the worst situations. If he threw away his life now...

"Naruto!" Sakura said, intending to reason with him. "Look over there! You can see the enemy now, look! There's hundreds of them, maybe thousands!! How are you going to fight that on your own?"

"The Sand will help me," Naruto said as he turned away, checking his equipment.

"The Sand have already been through one battle!" Sakura argued. "They're tired, and on top of that, there's only half as many of them as there are Cloud. There's no way you can win like this!"

"It doesn't matter," Naruto said. "I still have to save Keisuke nii-chan anyway, so there's no way that I can die here. If the enemy finds Haruka nee-chan before I do, then I'll kick their asses all the way to hell and back to save her!"

"But, Naruto, what if..."

"No 'what ifs'! I might be conceited, but unlike _some_ people," Naruto said with a backward glance at Sasuke, "I don't consider myself _too good_ for someone else's philosophy!"

A few moments passed in which the only sounds were Naruto preparing and checking his equipment one more time. Everyone had their own thoughts on what had just transpired, but at the same time they all knew one thing for certain: there would be no stopping their blond comrade now.

"Na-Naruto-kun," Hinata said, stepping towards him bravely. "I'm sorry. I know how much your friends mean to you, and... I should have supported you from the start. If you'll let me, I'll go with you."

Naruto stopped fiddling with his kunai pouch to turn his head and look at her. There was a sincere apology in her lavender-tinted eyes. He gave her a smile in spite of his recent anger.

"That's okay, Hinata-chan," he said. "You don't need to be sorry. Stay with Neji and keep out of the fight. Like he said, they'll be after you to the ends of the world if they recognize you."

"It does not make much of a difference if she stays with me," Neji said, "Since I will go with you anyway."

Everyone gaped at Neji, not having expected this response at all. He gave a sigh, and then shook his head briefly as a grim smile spread across his face.

"Naruto has a strange way of making me put my faith in him," he told them. "If he holds to Kakashi-san's teachings that strongly, then they will be good enough for me."

They stood mouths agape for a little while longer before Sakura let out a breath she'd held and capitulated.

"I guess I'm with you, too," she said. "At this rate, you're all going to need medical attention anyway. So, what are we going to do if we get mixed up with all of those ninja down there?"

Neji thought for a moment, before finally saying, "I'll think of something."

Sakura's jaw dropped again.

"You want us to go into _that,"_ she pointed at the clash between Sand and Cloud that had already started, "Without a plan? Did you forget..."

"Have you forgotten," asked a masculine voice from out of sight, "Just who you're here with? **Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**"

Everyone shielded their eyes against the explosion that rocked the whole village. Smokescreen billowed up around them, a product of the most massive summoning that some of them had ever seen. When it cleared, they looked upward where the smoke had been to behold the form of their savior.

The Gama-Oyabun (Frog Boss): Gamabunta.

"All right!" Naruto yelled up at the frog and the Sannin who rode on it. "Gama-Oyabun is here! Ero-Sennin, you're not all bad sometimes!"

Jiraiya, who stood tall upon Bunta's head, beamed down upon him and gave a nod.

"Yosh!" Naruto said. "Me, too. **Tajyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

More explosions. More smoke. One thousand Shadow Clones filed into formation in the streets and on the roofs of nearby buildings. The Sand forces stopped what they were doing to look at the new additions to their army, and were awed.

"Okay!" Naruto yelled, "Let's go!"

OoOoOoOo WTF DON'T STOP no Jutsu. End Chapter Eight. OooOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **Shino has obtained some surprising information! What will the others think when he returns? What will become of Haruka, who has fallen before the enemy? Can the mighty Gamabunta and the Naruto clones successfully repel the invaders?

You can find out in the next chapter, coming soon!


	11. C9: Out and In to Darkness

**A/N: **My electricity came back! Huzzah! I no longer need to go to the Internet Cafe in town to update!

Now taking all requests for scenes involving romance, violence, or the clearing up of confusion that I should have solved three chapters ago. I will not be taking requests for rated M content; I've had two of them in the past forty-eight hours already. If I have time, a rated M side chapter will be made available before I leave for basic.

News flash: Lacking Sight and War of the Eyes will soon be made available on other web sites in order to attract new audiences. Please be on the lookout for new spaces in which to spread the Naruto goodness!

**Chapter Nine: Out and In to Darkness**

The night was drawing to an end. The light of morning could be seen creeping up from behind the eastern horizon. This twilight, the beginning of a sunrise that was normally the most anticipated sight to be seen in the mountain village, illuminated the stone and wood as it always did.

But the sight was nowhere near as anticipated as it had been before. All knew that when the sun did at last come up after that terrible night, the beautiful pink and gold sky would be obscured by the billowing black smoke that rose from the wreckage. The chirping of the birds would be gone, for they would have fled to safer skies. And the clean streets from which they normally enjoyed these great sights and sounds would be littered with charred debris and embers.

It was in this setting that the last battle for control of the town was fought. The Cloud shinobi, supported by the soldiers from their own Lightning Country, fresh from their march, stormed through the breach they'd made in the barricade, intent on taking the fortress and the surrounding area's resources for their own. The Sand shinobi had no soldiers yet and, having just fought in a large-scale battle, were sapped in strength. However, they had a major advantage over the new invaders: one thousand fresh warriors in orange and black were rocketing towards the enemy, intent on taking out as many as possible before the real—and therefore less expendable—fighting force was forced to start taking losses, while the strongest and most resourceful of frogs lumbered forward behind them, carrying Jiraiya of the legendary three on top of his head.

Neji watched them go, smiling at his comrade's tenacity and marveling at his stamina. With power and stamina like that, Naruto and Jiraiya would single-handedly turn the tide of this battle, and possibly could do the same with the greater war. He'd made a good decision putting his trust in him.

"Hinata-sama," he said, watching as the first wave of Shadow Clones clashed with the oncoming enemies, "I know that you were serious about helping, but you should listen to your original instinct now. It will be difficult to keep you safe if there is an entire army after you. Please remain here with me."

Hinata stared out at the intense violence that gripped the far end of the town. The first of the Bunshins were beginning to go up in smoke, even in the first few moments. They were falling victim to long-ranged strikes from enemy catapult crews. They were unorthodox shots, as well; the shells broke apart on impact, releasing a strange green fluid that lit up like ball lightning when it touched the air. The blasts had a small radius, but everything that was touched by them was utterly obliterated. Several groups of Clones had been wiped out this way before even reaching the front lines.

"I know, Neji-niisan," she said, grimacing, "But it's hard to just watch this. What if the real one is..."

"He won't be," Sakura said. "He said that he wouldn't die, remember? He never goes back on his word."

That rhetoric was a source of courage for Hinata, but in the face of so much danger there was only so much help that could be found in it. She kept watching as Gamabunta leaped high into the air to evade a ball-lightning shot aimed at him, attempting to come down on top of the catapult that had fired it. However, the war machine was nestled in a circle of heavy wooden spikes, evidently intended to repel just such heavy counter-assaults. Bunta changed course in time to avoid being skewered, coming down instead on a concentration of enemy soldiers, but the catapult was unharmed and continued to fire. The Sand forces that began to join the fray alongside Naruto's Bunshins began to take hits from those shots as well.

"They are doing very well against the enemy ninja," Hinata observed, "But those machines are hurting them badly. I can't stop thinking that this will get worse before it gets better."

"Machines?" Sakura asked her. "What machines? It's getting lighter, but I still can't see the enemy main force very well."

"Catapults," explained Neji. "They are the source of those bright flashes you can see down there, the ones causing the most damage."

"Really?" Sakura asked. "That Byakugan keeps on amazing me..."

The Byakugan. Suddenly, Hinata found a good way to stop worrying and start being useful—without painting a target on herself. Right now, she and Neji were the only ones who had a clear view of the enemy force in its entirety. In this situation...

"Neji-niisan," she said, "We could guide Sakura-chan and Kiba-kun to the enemy catapults. With their strength and our eyes, they could stop those shots before too many are hurt. Naruto-kun and Shino-kun would have a much easier time coming back."

Neji, who had only just begun to think about it himself, gave her an approving nod. When protecting her precious friends, she was as much—if not more—a strong and capable leader as he was. He took a glance at Sakura and Kiba, measuring their combat strength. Sakura was a bit weathered, but all right; she would be able to do this.

Kiba, however, was not yet out of his funk. Akamaru kept nudging him, trying to get him to take his eyes off of the shattered houses and blackened corpses. But no amount of gentleness could make him forget his irrevocable mistake. Neji addressed him verbally, hoping that authority would reach him better than coaxing.

"Kiba," he asked, "Tell me, your captain, if you are able to continue battle."

Fortunately, the dog keeper had not been pushed over the edge by his experience. He was comprehending enough to turn towards his leader and acknowledge his question with a low grunt. He stood up, adjusting his gear for action even as he showed no signs of enthusiasm at the prospect. Though the probability for civilian death was significantly lower this late in the fight, any chance of a repeat accident seemed to be too high for him. Neji noticed this, and knew that it was bad to go into a fight with that kind of sour mood.

"You know, there is a chance that innocent people will be caught in the crossfire," he said, "But at the same time, if those catapults aren't stopped, there is a potential that everyone here—innocent or not—will die. I think that the second possibility would be more difficult to live with."

Kiba was motionless for a moment, absorbing the weight of the words. Everyone watched while Akamaru gave a small nibble on his arm, causing him to pat the dog's big snout. Finally, he gave a small nod, and affixed his radio to his head. He would be all right.

"Good," Neji said. "Sakura, Kiba, begin moving toward the enemy force. We'll guide you to the first catapult once you're behind the village wall."

OoOoOoOoO

"**Suiton: Teppoudama!"**

An enormous ball of water shot up from the mouth of the Gama-Oyabun, seemingly aimed randomly into the sky. It's trajectory carried it hundreds of feet in the air, arcing beautifully in the brightening sky. At the top of the arc, it met another projectile, who's own parabolic path mirrored its own, and they collided. The Gun Bullet and the ball-lightning catapult shot exploded against each other in midair, making an effect like a miniature thunderhead.

Having been unable to get close enough to the machines to crush them and seeing Sakura and Kiba moving in to take them out themselves, Jiraiya and Bunta had taken to shooting down the catapult shots themselves as they flew towards their targets. At first, there had been too many shots going off at once, and shooting them all down proved to be impossible. Once the first few catapults were destroyed by Sakura's earth-shattering hands under Kiba and Akamaru's defensive cover, Gamabunta was able to be more effective until, finally, enough had been taken down to allow him brief respites in which to attack enemy troops directly. His sword and massive feet put an end to many Lightning Country soldiers who tried to bring him down. When he had to stop to fire up at incoming shots, Jiraiya warded enemies away from the frog with well-placed Doton and Katon ninjutsu. This effective teamwork between summon and summoner prevented severe damage to the Sand and their allies throughout the battle.

As the short burst of rain fell from the sky, the sun broke out from behind the horizon, creating a magnificent section of rainbow. When the water fell onto an exhausted battalion of Shadow Clones, Sakura's voice called out on the radio:

"All siege engines silenced! We did it!"

It was followed, shortly after, by another announcement, this time from the Sand commander:

"The enemy advance is contained. The remaining Cloud forces appear to be retreating."

The real Naruto, worn out from maintaining over four hundred of his original one thousand Bunshins over the approximate one-hour period and maxing out the chakra on all of them, stood leaning against the village barricade, gasping for breath. But he managed to grit his teeth and grin against the stitch in his side as he heard the news.

The radio went off a few more times, as Sand squad leaders reported to their various commanders on their statuses, as well as the apparent progress of the enemy retreat. When all of the Cloud shinobi had vanished, leaving only the Lightning soldiers behind, Naruto allowed his Shadow Clones to disappear and sank onto the ground against the wall. When all the Sand chatter died down, Neji's voice sounded across the airwaves.

"This is Hyuuga Neji. All survivors from Konoha, respond."

As Naruto was out of breath, the others beat him to the punch on the response.

"This is Sakura. I'm worn out, but all right. Kiba and Akamaru are in good health, too."

"Jiraiya here! Everything's fine, but you knew that already, didn't you?"

"This is Shino. I have just re-entered the village. Will rendezvous with you shortly."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. Though he trusted Neji, he hadn't been able to completely free himself of worry over his stoic comrade, even if he was the most annoying of them. It was good to hear the bug user's voice again.

Consumed by this sensation of relief and in his exhaustion, he almost missed the next transmission.

"Does anyone see Naruto-kun?" Hinata's voice asked. "I just saw all of the Kage Bunshin disappear at once... is he all right?"

It gladdened the blond even more to hear her. After hearing the acid cries of all the shinobi and soldiers that had tried to kill him and the death screams of those he had killed—one thousand times over, for he retained the memories of all one thousand of his clones—the voice of someone who cared for his well-being without fearing him was a soothing balm. He smiled as he brushed dirt and dried blood from his torn orange jacket, then pulled off his hitai-ate to run a hand through his grimy, sweaty golden hair. This was the calm after the storm, and he could now rest.

"I'm here, Hinata-chan," he said into the radio. "I'll need a bath and about a hundred bowls of ramen, but I'll be all right."

"Good to hear," said Neji.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Hey, Kiba... you there, dog-breath? Not still flipped out on us, are you?"

For a moment, he could hear some odd noises over the radio, occasionally penetrated by loud canine barks. Eventually, though, the voice of his half-bestial comrade sounded from the speaker, full of the same exhaustion that Naruto was but otherwise healthy.

"Doing better than you look, Naruto. I can see you over there, flopped up on the wall. What did you do, break both your legs? Moron."

Looking around, Naruto found the figures of Kiba, Akamaru, and Sakura waving at him from the destruction of a far-away catapult. His smile widened. It seemed that his red-marked friend had found his fighting spirit again.

"Nah, my legs are fine," he responded. "My stomach is killing me, though. I haven't eaten since last night!"

"Last night being about six hours ago... with Hinata?"

_Yup, he's back,_ Naruto thought, knowing that Hinata would be embarrassed and a little bit embarrassed himself. But as last night was a fond memory of a sort and he was feeling too happy to have his friends alive to care, he let Kiba go unscathed.

"What about Haruka-san?" Sakura asked. "Naruto, did you find her?"

Naruto's good mood fell through the floor in an instant. He _hadn't_ found her, or even a shred of evidence that she had even been in the village. His smile disappeared and a look of pain and anger appeared on his face; he blamed himself for not being fast enough. Exhausted as he was, his nerves were as dead as his good mood, and he was able to drag himself up off the ground and begin walking back to where he had left the others.

"Naruto, this is Neji. Respond."

He let out a sigh before saying, "No. I didn't find Nee-chan anywhere. I was too late."

OoOoOoOoOoO

"It wasn't your fault, Naruto-kun," Hinata said. She had Naruto's jacket and shirt off and was busily attending to his injuries. Her face was straight—she had to be serious taking care of a patient, after all—but not entirely clear of pink tint. Though the better part of her knew she didn't mean it, she found herself thinking in a small corner of her own mind that he ought to be injured more often, just so she could keep looking at that magnificent torso...

"Listen to her, Naruto," Sakura said. "There was no way you could have known the Cloud would show up. They probably took Haruka-san completely by surprise, so there's no way you could have made it in time."

"I know," Naruto growled. He winced slightly as Hinata's hand brushed a tender bruise on his abdomen, then returned to his task—cleaning his equipment. He'd lost a number of kunai and shuriken in the extended battle, and so he'd had to collect from the ground and from the corpses to resupply himself. Many of them were filthy.

"No, you don't know," Sakura insisted. "That's why we're telling you..."

"This is one more reason why you shouldn't have stayed here," interrupted Sasuke darkly. "All you've done is waste everyone's time, for the sake of someone who was already dea..."

**CRACK.**

The Uchiha traitor shut up as a foot connected with his skull. It was a strong kick, one that would have decapitated a weaker man. It was followed by the looming, angry, pink-framed face of the one who had delivered it.

"Shut up," Sakura said. "I can't ignore you any more. If you don't have anything useful to say, then keep your hateful, back-stabbing mouth clamped shut, or I'll shut it for you!"

It was actually the second time that Sakura had physically struck Uchiha Sasuke, but everyone present besides the two of them was witnessing it for the first time. Everyone, with the exception of Shino—who was as stoic and non-expressive as usual—and Naruto, who had his back turned and did not turn it now, was looking at them with a newfound awe. To think that Sakura, who was once so powerless against Sasuke, would now strike him with the same force as that with which she had once struck Naruto! And as for the mighty Uchiha, who had been silenced by a single kick, everyone now held a question in their minds about him as well.

Sasuke appeared disoriented for a moment before he registered that Sakura had hit him again. When he regained his focus, he glanced up at Sakura, fixing her in his dark eyes. The girl stared right back, unwavering, solid and unmoving in her ultimatum. Sasuke could see that she would no longer capitulate to his dark and mysterious will. She truly was another person from the Sakura he had left three years before. Seeing that she was no longer malleable in his hands, he stared at her a long moment, then turned his eyes on Naruto, trying to see what effect his words had had on him.

But Naruto did not appear to have any reaction to Sasuke's vocal jab. He simply kept on cleaning his equipment while Hinata, momentarily frozen in the suspense of the moment, sat still with her hand on top of a bandage she had been in the middle of applying to his left arm. This surprised everyone; they'd expected a fiery and immediate retaliation.

When he'd finished with the kunai he had been cleaning that moment, he stood up. His face was the false mask of cheerfulness that he'd developed in childhood, dulled somewhat by exhaustion, but nonetheless recognizable.

"It's all right, you guys," he assured his team. "I don't have the energy to play his game right now. Maybe it's for the better—I never proved anything by yelling at him, anyway."

He bent down to retrieve his jacket and pulled it on. Not even bothering to look at Sasuke, he began to wander off into the wreckage of the village. Nobody said a word as he disappeared behind a collapsed store building. Everyone watched him go with sadness on their face. Naruto had been forced to grow up fast, and the process was still continuing.

Neji noted that Sasuke stared after the blond, too. It was the familiar expression, the same one that he had noticed before when Naruto had left the Uchiha in his tent the previous morning. Only this time there was more intensity in it; the traitor's mind had been destabilized by the exchange, and Neji did not need his Byakugan to see it. Face stern, he leaned in close to Sasuke's ear and whispered:

"Unfortunate for you. The last two people in the whole world who cared about you have finally turned their backs. It will be difficult to manipulate them into facilitating your escape, now."

As Sasuke whipped his head around to glare daggers at Neji, the Hyuuga jounin brought his hand down to connect with the traitor's face. It was not an open-palm Jyuuken-style attack; it was a straight close-fisted punch that landed squarely on Sasuke's cheekbone. Sasuke grunted in pain as the unexpected punishment redoubled the agony from his earlier injury.

"That was for my future brother-in-law," he whispered. Then, more loudly, "Hinata-sama, please go and get Naruto. If Haruka-san has not come back by this time, we must assume that she is either dead or captured. It is difficult to leave such a heroine behind, but we do not have any other choice; if we delay any longer, Orochimaru will reach the Grave before us, and our chances of rescuing Keisuke-san will drop significantly. We can only put our faith in Haruka-san, and hope that she is alive and able to escape."

Everyone's heads lowered at the prospect of leaving the heroine of the Hyuuga Clan to her fate, but Hinata nodded.

"Hai, Neji-niisan."

She rose from where she had crouched while tending Naruto's wounds, and began walking the way Naruto had gone. As she passed the twice-struck Sasuke, she burned her eyes into him. She felt the impact of her gaze hit home against the traitor and, satisfied, hurried off after her orange-clad love.

Kiba almost visibly recoiled. The fire she had seen in his teammate's eyes just now... If there had ever been a time when Hinata had looked ready to murder someone, or even eager to be violent at all, it had been just now. The feeling it had generated in him was halfway between disbelief, concern, and terror. He could only hope that the latter was what had infected the target. Just in case it hadn't, though, he took the opportunity to walk up to the already-bruised traitor and dish out a kick of his own. Akamaru joined him, biting down hard on Sasuke's leg.

"That's for all the innocence you destroyed, you bastard," Kiba said. "And Akamaru's giving you one for the injury your Sound flunkies gave me back in Konoha. What goes around comes around, jerk."

Sasuke, now bleeding from the side of his head and from his leg, simply gazed up emptily at him. The back-stabber's thoughts were unreadable. Kiba, Neji, and Sakura could only hope that they were unpleasant.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Naruto trudged through the ashes of the ruined marketplace. This area had been among the hardest hit; ninja from the Sound and the Sand had met and clashed here for a long time before the Sand had finally gained the upper hand and begun pushing them back. Everything that could have burned burned. Kunai, shuriken and a large assortment of other weapons were stuck into charred dirt and wood, and others simply lay about where they had been dropped. The place was littered with dead shinobi.

Thinking back only a few hours, he could imagine the fun he had been having here with Hinata, the release of stress it had provided. If not for that, the stress he'd suffered this night and the stress he'd had before might have been too much. What was he going to do for comfort when he was far away from such conveniences? When he'd said he wouldn't mind hanging out with Hinata more often, he'd meant it... but would there be another chance any time soon? Not likely.

Now, Haruka was gone, possibly dead... Kyuubi would be having a field day when he finally fell asleep, which wouldn't be long now. He was so tired...

Something caught the sunlight and glinted in his vision, just as he felt a wave of anger approaching, which distracted him from his thoughts. A small sculpted head with spiked hair, and the face of the Yondaime Hokage. It was poking up from a pile of ash and some blackened shelves—the wreckage of the store where Haruka had played her last prank.

Naruto walked over to it, transfixed by the brightness it reflected. When he bent low and pulled it out of the ash pile, it was miraculously unharmed; except for the residue left on it by the ashes, it was as whole and as lustrous as it had been the night before, where everything else had been destroyed in the fire. He stared at the small Hokage in his hand, wondering at how it had survived.

_This thing..._ he thought, _It caused me so much embarrassment. And it survived through all of that..._

He sucked in a deep breath to calm himself, letting it out slowly. As the sun cleared the last of the mountains and poured golden light onto his head, he packed the statuette carefully in his bag. There was no way that he would let it get away from him.

"Nee-chan's alive," he said to himself. "As long as I know that, I know she'll find us again."

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned to see Hinata coming at him. He knew what she wanted, and he'd go with her stoically. Haruka would not have expected less of him, and neither would Keisuke or the Yondaime himself.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

If it had been hard subduing the "White Demoness," as they called her, it was at least twice as hard keeping her subdued. Oh, she had been a perfect angel while she was unconscious, and she had been unconscious the whole way to the forward Command Center, but once she was awake...

The poor team of jounin assigned to guard her had already heard more than enough out of her. Since she had come to three days ago, she simply had not stopped spouting vehement nonsense about how moronic they looked—never failing to point out the slightest, most insignificant flaw about one of them in a way that irritated and occasionally embarrassed them to no end—and about how she could escape in a heartbeat if she chose.

And always, always there was the regular declaration that once she was free, she would return with "him" and bring retribution crashing down on their heads. The identity of "him" was never cleared up; it was a different name every time, and usually the names were degrading. Some things were established, however, and these were reported to the higher-ups: "he" was blind, noted for several instances of stupidity, as well as some kind of Father and a foe who demanded respect.

"I almost wish that this 'he' would show up now, just so the bitch would shut up about him," the lead guard said to one of his underlings. This comment prompted a whole new slew of insults.

"I don't think I can wait, sempai," responded the younger jounin. "Hey, I don't think it would hurt her too bad if we used 'it...' what do you think?"

The leader rubbed his chin, contemplating. "It" happened to be the most powerful sedative in the Lightning Country, capable of knocking out a person for five days at a time with only minimal danger of side effects. They weren't supposed to use it, since the medical team wanted to examine her with their own special brand of everything.

"In this case," he thought, "I think that drastic measures are appropriate. Get the needle."

The flunky hurried off eagerly to retrieve the syringe and the correct dosage. He returned in less than a minute, grinning happily that the "White Demoness" would finally be silenced. As the door to the cell was opened, he was able to withstand the spitting verbal violence of the captive without any annoyance at all.

"You idiots have got some weak heads, to be this worked up over some word play. Even that eyeless moron can stand me running my mouth for a couple of days. You want to get really angry? Undo the wires and try me in a fair fight, you cowards. Then again, it wouldn't be fair if it was just you four against me..."

"We have no intention of giving you any opportunity to escape, Hyuuga-sama," said the flunky, raising the needle. "You two, hold her down."

"Like I'd let them, moron!" the Demoness yelled, kicking the first assailant in the face and breaking his nose.

"You bitch!" yelled the afflicted jounin.

"Your fault for not watching yourself, fool. I'm not completely defenseless because I'm tied up."

"Calm down," snapped the jounin with the needle. "She'll shut up in a moment. Now grab hold of her, no need to be gentle..."

"Indeed, there is no need at all," said a voice behind him. He had no time to turn and see who it was, because before he had even finished hearing the sentence, he had been struck at a critical point in his back, a tap with chakra to his central nervous system that robbed him of consciousness. He collapsed, releasing the needle as he fell.

The intruder caught the needle as the two jounin who had been closing in on Haruka turned and stared in shock at their fallen comrade. Before they could react, the intruder had turned on the one with the broken nose and stuck the needle into his arm, injecting the sedative and incapacitating him in an instant.

"What?" said the remaining jounin. "But the Captain..."

"Is dead," said the intruder, slamming his palm into the target's wide-open chest. "It was not smart at all to leave only one sentry outside. Single sentries get lonely, and lonely sentries get dead."

The last jounin slumped to the ground.

"How ridiculous of me," mused the intruder, "Talking to an enemy who's already dead..."

"Well, it's about time Hiashi sent some damned backup," Haruka said. She'd recognized her rescuer's fighting style as the Jyuuken style immediately. "Neji-kun sent the report on the Cloud days ago."

The intruder did not say anything, but focused on the task at hand. He was tall and wore a plain black shinobi battle-suit with a full-face mask, showing only his silvery eyes. The Byakugan was active, scanning the entire area for signs of enemy patrols while he cut the wire that bound Haruka. When it was finished, he helped Haruka to her feet.

"Let's go, Haruka-Taicho," he said.

"Thanks," returned Haruka. "These past few days have been so dull. By the way, your voice sounds familiar, do I know..."

"This way, hurry!" the rescuer interrupted, cutting her off. "They will attempt to change the guard soon, and we must be far away by then."

He took off at a run out of the cell and down one of the Command center passageways leading deeper into the facility. Haruka, not wanting to be left behind and having had enough of Cloud guards, followed without question. They ran throughout the interior of the facility—which was situated in a system of underground caves southwest of Kumogakure. Using her own Byakugan, Haruka could make out the chakra signatures of the enemy through the walls.

"Hey," she questioned, "You sure this is the right way to go? I realize it's dangerous to go right out the front door, but there are a lot of enemies in the heart of the base, too."

"Haruka-Taicho, do not fear. I entered this facility stealthily, and we will go out the same way."

"No, you won't!" shouted a guard behind them. "Sound the alarm!"

"Damn, they're sneaky!" Haruka cursed. "How'd they get behind us without being picked up?"

"The enemy has many skilled shinobi in their ranks," said her rescuer. "Undoubtedly they were also briefed on the weaknesses of the Byakugan, its range capacities and blind spot. It isn't that surprising. Just keep running, Taicho, we're almost free."

And so they kept running. Warning bells began to sound as they rounded two more corners, and the first intercept team met them shortly after the third. The rescuer dispatched the first three in half a heartbeat, and Haruka took care of the fourth and fifth as they missed their target and ran past him. In less than three seconds, the hall was clear again.

"This way," said the rescuer, moving a hidden panel out from the wall. "The Cloud generals use this as an emergency exit when the fortress is overwhelmed. We can use it to make our escape."

Before Haruka could ask how he knew about this wonderful exit, he had leaped through it, and the only thing she could do was follow. He waited for her on the other side, closing the panel behind her. Haruka could see that they were in a tunnel that was almost pitch dark, but above her she could see a small light. She put more chakra into her Byakugan, increasing its intensity, and found that ample handholds had been gouged into the rock, which led straight upward toward the light.

"I suppose we climb up this way?" she asked, rhetorically. "And at first I thought you were good, seeing you work on those guys back there. Now I know; you're something else. Hiashi ought to promote you."

"Thank you very much, Haruka-Taicho," said the rescuer. "Now then, shall we escape this rat hole?"

Haruka looked him in the eye. There was something about him that was familiar, but she just couldn't place it. She could hear it in his voice, and see it in the way he carried himself. Just what was it, though? It was difficult to see through the mask he wore when she was already straining herself just to see in the dark.

"Are you positive that we don't know each other?" she asked.

"Are we not all family, Taicho?"

They climbed up the rock ladder, the rescuer first with Haruka close behind. It was a long climb, perhaps several hundred meters. When they emerged, however, it turned out to be well worth it; Haruka found herself on a high plateau, with nothing but green grass and blue sky all around her. She reveled in her newfound freedom, letting the gentle breeze blow through her hair.

"Hello sky!" she called. "It's good to be home again."

"Don't enjoy yourself too much," said her rescuer. "Your companions are several days ahead of you already. If you do not hurry, they will reach the Grave before you."

"Oh, so you found them all right?" Haruka asked. "Good. I knew Naruto-kun would make it. He and his friends are all tough ninja."

"Yes, I do agree. If you do not reach them soon, however, then Orochimaru may overtake them without you. They are skilled, but your support will be needed, Taicho, especially since the elite Cloud team is still after Hinata-sama. I suggest you hurry."

"They're _still_ chasing her?" Haruka asked. "I would have figured that they would have been satisfied with having me. They don't know about the Caged Bird seal, after all."

"Of course, if they had heard that the main army had captured a Hyuuga, then there would be no more need for them to seek her. That is why I redeemed you."

This was strange. Why would a branch member be spared over the heiress to the clan? Sure, the clan was undergoing changes, but giving up the heiress for Haruka was still absurd.

"That didn't make any sense," she said.

"It makes perfect sense to me," said the rescuer. "If the Cloud have a Hyuuga already, then there is no motivation for them to carry out their end of our bargain."

Now Haruka was really confused. What the heck was this?

"Bargain? I don't know what... ugh!"

She was interrupted by a jab that shot chakra straight through her front abdominal wall and her intestines to terminate at her spinal column. Immediately, she could feel herself slipping out of consciousness again. Enraged, but unable to fight, she focused her energy to her eyes in an effort to see through the mask, as she hadn't been able to in the tunnel.

What she saw made her stomach turn.

"You!" she gasped.

"Really, Haruka," said her new captor, "I thought you would have guessed my identity by now. Then again, perhaps the ailment of the 'Great Father' has rubbed off on you."

There were so many things that she wanted to say to the beast of a man that she saw, but blackness overtook her once again, and she found herself spiraling down in a torrent of anger and disbelief, feelings that would wait long to be expressed.

OoOoOoOo Ninpou: Tired Writer no Jutsu! End Chapter Nine oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter:** Haruka set free, only to be captured by a different party! Where will she be taken now? Can she keep her bragging rights after being captured twice? Meanwhile, her friends, resolved to continue without her, are continuing their march toward the Grave. Having now tasted the true nature of war, how will Naruto and company handle their next challenges?


	12. C10: I'm Sorry!

**A/N: **Man, the soundtracks that some video games have... The OST's for the Ace Combat series in particular are really, really good. It's got rock bands mixed in with full-blown orchestras. I enjoy rock and metal and I enjoy orchestras, and I have to say that having them both together makes for one hell of an epic soundtrack. This is why I wrote the whole Naruto/Sasuke battle with "Hrimfaxi" and other songs from AC5 playing in my headphones. I wrote this particular chapter with the final battle music from ACZero blasting on full volume. :D

Yeah, I've got a unique taste, but this music is just too epic to not play repeatedly while typing up epic fanfiction. I'm sure you guys don't mind me being a little weird as long as I keep writing, huh?

**Chapter Ten: I'm Sorry!**

In the end, the forces from Sunagakure no Sato managed to secure control of the mountain village and the nodes of resources that were nearby, gaining a significant victory for the forces that the older villagers referred to as the "Southern Eye." Soldiers from Kaze no Kuni arrived on the morning after the battle and immediately began repair and fortification operations. In two or three days, according to the Wind commander, there would be such an impregnable fortress there that no force, no matter how large or powerful, would be able to break through. And once this was done, the Sand forces would be able to travel to the northwest, recruiting forces that sympathized with them and the Leaf, with which they could smash into the Earth Country and storm the heart of the Rock shinobi.

Having failed to gain control of a key strategic point, the door to the south became closed to the greater part of the Sound forces. When this was added to the factor of severely reduced numbers and a lack of a strong grunt army, Sannin, or Kage present to back them up, all of the commanders of Otogakure no Sato agreed that continuing to fight would be sheer foolishness. However, they could not simply surrender; Orochimaru was getting weaker as the time for his body-swap drew near, but when the Immortality Jutsu was finally cast, there would be no stopping him; death or worse would take them for their lack of fidelity. Therefore, they retreated northwest towards the sea, hoping to buy ships at a neutral port and sail far, far out of reach. It was not known by the Southern Eye forces whether or not they actually reached the coast, but it is certain that they have not engaged in any noteworthy activity since.

Meanwhile, back in Konohagakure no Sato, the situation was reported to be more complicated than previously hoped for. Though the recovery effort supported by workers and ninja from both the Fire and Wind countries had been largely successful, the Fire Country had a new threat to deal with; soldiers and shinobi from Mizu no Kuni and Kirigakure no Sato had crossed the border and were rapidly claiming territory for themselves. Thanks to the information extracted from Uchiha Sasuke at his interrogation, this was not entirely unexpected, and so the villages nearest the Fire/Water border had been evacuated long before the invasion began. As a result, no casualties had been sustained in Fire Country so far, and the Leaf ninja, Fire soldiers, and Sand forces had been given time to prepare a counter-offensive. According to the Godaime Hokage and her lead strategist, Nara Shikamaru, this new front could be held securely for several months with the proper use of the local terrain and intelligent troop deployment.

Many smaller factions, such as Nano no Kuni and the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls, had offered their support to the Southern Eye forces, sympathizing with them for having been the victim of an unjust attack by the Sound and Rock, and now the Mist shinobi. The aid came in many forms; Haruna, the Daimyo of Nano Kuni and Koyuki, Daimyo of Snow Country, sent rations of food and other supplies to Leaf to aid in reconstruction. Shibuki, the Hero of the Waterfall Village, deployed a contingent of his best fighters to Sunagakure no Sato, where they joined Sand forces that were preparing to march North towards Hidden Rock, where they would attack simultaneously with the forces that came from the east and execute a pincer attack. It was a war which truly engulfed the world.

As to the matter of the Lightning Country and Kumogakure no Sato, attempts to send emissaries to their leaders had ended in bloody failure. The leaders of the Wind Country force that observed their actions offered numerous suggestions as to why they were joining the war. One of the most prominent theories was that the Lightning Country had observed the conflict brewing between their neighbors and was aiming to take advantage of it, claiming territory and resources for themselves after the Northern and Southern Eye forces had exhausted themselves against each other.

This theory was popular for two major reasons: first, at the mountain village, the Cloud had attacked only after the battle between the Sand and the Sound had ended. Though they failed due to the presence of abnormally strong enemies mixed in with the Sand, their late arrival supports the idea that Lightning Country was capitalizing on the exhaustion of neighboring forces. Second was that Lightning and Cloud seemed to be attacking all forces apart from themselves indiscriminately; they had attacked Sand, who was aligned with the Southern Eye forces, but they had also—according to forward scouts in the Wind Country army—been seen attacking Water Country military installations, which would mean that they were not sympathetic to Orochimaru's Northern Eye, either. The "Rogue Eye," as veterans of the mountain battle were beginning to call it, seemed to serve only itself.

All of this information reached Neji's team by way of messenger bird less than a day after they had departed the Sand-controlled stronghold. It remained fresh in their minds constantly as they traveled, and though Jiraiya was now with them, Neji ordered that Sasuke should be watched in pairs, and that the early-warning wires and traps be increased in number. This turned out to be a wise move, for the group was attacked the very next day by Lightning Country agents, and again two days later by a group of advance scouts from the Rock. These last assailants they subdued and captured rather than killed, and questioned thoroughly.

This interrogation yielded both good news and bad. The bad news was that—as Neji suspected—a division of Earth Country soldiers supported by several squadrons of shinobi were on their way to the east in response to the Sound loss there. Fortunately, however, this battalion was still two days' march away from them; Neji and team's path, according to Sasuke, turned to the north only a few kilometers from where they stood then, so they would have time to get out of the Rock's path before they were taken. Neji tied up and hid the scouts, sent a message to the Sand forces back in the stronghold warning of the incoming force, and then ordered that the team double their pace in order to reach the northward turn before sunset. That extra burst of fast traveling tired out the already-exhausted team, and the process of setting up camp was conducted in dismal silence.

No one was able to quiet their minds, however. The Southern Eye's battle plans and manpower seemed to be adequate enough to win the war, but there were an infinite number of factors that could turn the tide in another faction's favor. In the world of ninjutsu, almost anything was possible, and the whole of that wide, wide world was currently caught up in one monstrous super-war. In addition, they all knew there were forces at work in the shadows, possibly biding their time to assess and determine when and where and how to act. How would the world as they knew it survive this conflict?

In connection with this was the information retrieved by Shino from the elite Cloud team at risk of his life. The "Rogue Eye" had a team after Naruto and Hinata simultaneously—a mission that only made partial sense, especially because the mission had been carried out at the request of an outside client rather than the team's own village. Kumogakure no Sato had wanted the Byakugan for years, and they were going to capture a Hyuuga for one of their clients rather than for themselves? Also, what on earth could they want with Naruto? It was known only by a few that the boy was a Jinchuuriki, and there was little chance that the Lightning Country would want him even if they did know.

Who was this "client," and why were the Cloud cooperating with them? Akatsuki had been suggested, but ruled out on the basis that Akatsuki would want nothing to do with Hinata and on Jiraiya's testament that Kouhei, whom he had fought shortly before the battle of Konoha, was not an Akatsuki member, and had worn the cloak to inspire fear in his prey and to camouflage the identity of the true client. So who was it?

Shino had chosen not to reveal the nature of the situation between him and the female plant user, Ayaka, to his teammates. He, being a caring friend and a stoic person in general, knew that they had enough on their plates to worry about without his personal matters thrown into the mix. It was sufficient for their safety to know that the enemy team would continue to pursue them in the shadows until an opportunity to strike presented itself. Anything else would be too much unnecessary stress on everyone's mind.

This was especially true with Naruto, who was nearing his breaking point as he set off for his solo training on the fourth day out from the mountains. Everyone could see the mental and physical exhaustion taking their toll on him; the dark, sunken circles around his eyes seemed to grow darker by the moment, and minor cuts and abrasions would have become infected long ago if it were not for Hinata and Sakura constantly forcing him to sit down and let himself be treated. His personal hygiene was often neglected unless Sakura pestered him into bathing. In addition, he became agitated much more easily than normal. He was beginning to resemble the earlier, less friendly version of Sabaku no Gaara.

_I will do it! _Naruto thought furiously as he brought the Rasengan to life. A mental image of Keisuke and Haruka, was maintained in his head, a reminder of why he was putting himself through this. For close to two years, they had been the closest thing he had to family other than the perverted hermit, and he wasn't going to cast them to their fates simply because he had his old family back. He wasn't like Sasuke, who discarded people once they were no longer useful. That was another reason to succeed: to prove to the traitorous bastard once and for all that he was not a fool for wanting to save his precious people.

_I will!_

With the Rasengan fully matured in his right palm, he concentrated on the next stage. With his mind, he sought to alter the nature of the swirling chakra sphere he held, calling upon his affinity for the wind element to manifest itself. The first few times that he had tried this, he had failed in a very big way. The sphere had lost its compact shape as soon as he had started applying the nature manipulation, and all of that raw power had burst out in every direction. He had been fine afterwards, obviously, but it still was not very nice to get knocked on his backside repeatedly.

Fortunately, he had the benefit of being connected to one of the best people in the world at chakra control. Neji had ordered Naruto not to go off alone due to the nature of the danger presented by the enemy elite team, and Hinata had been "elected" by Sakura and Kiba to go with him. She had helped him to develop the technique while she watched, giving him tips on how to focus his chakra better and with less effort. Naruto had slowly been making progress thanks to her help.

"Come on, now," he pleaded with the sphere, "Stay in one piece..."

"You can do this, Naruto-kun!" Hinata called, albeit from a safe distance; she didn't want to be near that thing if it blew up again.

It seemed to be working this time. As Naruto focused, keeping his eyes riveted to it, he applied the nature manipulation slowly. The chakra began to alter itself slightly, becoming sharper, lighter, stronger. As it did so, he employed Hinata's teachings, picking up with his eyes and by feel when the form of the sphere began to become distorted. When he detected it, he stopped the nature manipulation momentarily, focused on shoring up the shape manipulation until he corrected the problem, and then started again. This way, he kept the sphere from fragmenting.

With this slow and extremely careful process, Naruto eventually succeeded in transforming the entire Rasengan into a compact, intense, multi-directional whirlwind. It shone with blue brilliance as it swirled in his hand, kicking up dirt and dust all around him. For the first time since his outing with Hinata back in the mountain village, he smiled wide.

"Ha ha HA!!" he shouted, prancing around with his new toy. "I got it! I! Got! It! You're a genius, Hinata! We just invented the key to Keisuke-niichan's cell!"

Hinata watched with a smile and a slight blush on her face as he stamped his feet, jumped up and down, and ran around the clearing three times, holding the improved Rasengan in front of him like a shield against the world and its woes. It was a magnificent jutsu, that was for certain, and the way the vegetation rustled violently as Naruto passed was a testament to its power. She felt pride for Naruto, looking at it, and also pride for herself...

We_ invented it, he said, _thought she. _That's true; he wouldn't have gotten it so quickly if I didn't help him. _Her smile grew even wider, and her blush deepened. _We. This is _our_ jutsu, that we created together..._

"But, Naruto-kun," she said, "We still need to do more work with it. You were able to complete it, but you build it up so slowly... there would never be that much time in a real battle."

Naruto still had the black bags under his eyes, and he was still exhausted and soaked with sweat, but nothing could wipe the smile off of his face. His triumph today was much too great to allow that. Though he stopped running around like an Eye-Gouging Gnat lost in a swarm of Kikai bugs, he came to rest twenty meters away from Hinata beaming with as much pride as his youthful body could hold.

"Yeah, you're right," he said. "But we still have some time left. We'll be able to speed it up if I get a little more practice in. With your help, Hinata, I'm sure I'll do it!"

Hinata looked at him with hope in her eyes. Following their departure from the Sand fortress, Naruto had not sunk into the manic depression which had plagued him after leaving Konoha, instead choosing to go a more "Naruto-ish" route by throwing himself into his training. While this was a more normal reaction for Naruto to this kind of situation, Hinata had still not been able to stop herself worrying that he would overexert himself. Now, at last, he was not only once again the loud, confident Naruto that she loved most of all, but he might also be persuaded to rest himself.

That, and they had made something spectacular together. Maybe while he rested, would there be a chance...?

Suddenly, a loud noise like all the jack-hammers in the world grinding the same spot at once filled the forest, causing the animals to screech in fright and flee. Hinata was snapped out of her sunlit daydream and knocked flat on her back.

Unknown to her and everyone else on the team, Naruto had not slept since he had learned that Haruka had vanished. He had such a very good reason for not sleeping that he had forced himself to stay awake at night, glaring silently at Sasuke and pinching himself to stave off the exhaustion. He had survived the last four days and three nights on his fiery will and food alone.

But the fourth night would not happen. His body, no matter how strong his will was, was only willing to take so much before it took matters into its own hands. It did have two souls within that it had to contain, after all. Ignoring the dangerous sphere of power that its hand held, it cut off support to Naruto's consciousness, and went limp. Naruto had fallen forward onto the ground, taking the massive power with it. The result had been a crater the size of those ones on the moon and a lot of shocked ninja.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled, picking herself up. But she didn't run out to help the boy just yet; she was too busy gawking at the crater. Naruto had done this?!

Sakura came running. She found Hinata gaping down into the massive hole, and she saw Naruto lying face-down in the middle of it.

"Hey! Neji sent me to see what... Naruto! Hinata, what happened?" she asked, rushing into the crater.

From his perch in the trees above, Jiraiya looked on with a half-smile on his mien. He had just witnessed one of the most incredible ninjutsu ever created in its first action. It had taken an incredible amount of effort and willpower to create, but that was to be expected. All of that from one boy... no, from a single young man.

_I called him "an interesting egg" when I fist met him,_ Jiraiya thought, _but look at him now! Yondaime, despite his best efforts, was never able to do that. The egg has hatched into a phoenix with the potential to become a weapon more effective than all the armies in the world combined. _

He watched while Sakura examined him and kept watching as she and Hinata hoisted him up between them, preparing to carry him back to camp.

_Ah, and he's lucky with the ladies, too,_ he thought. _Naruto, you're one hell of a guy. I'm not sorry to have fought with you. But what will you do now?_

Gama-Sennin leaped from the tree branch and sped back to camp, beating the girls and Naruto there by a minute. The camp was in confusion over what the large explosion had been, but Neji had forbidden anyone to leave unless he personally ordered them to. When Jiraiya landed near the Hyuuga jounin, all eyes immediately went to him. Neji opened his mouth, about to ask what it was he'd seen. Gama-Sennin spoke first.

"I'll watch Sasuke for Naruto tonight," he said.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Darkness. A sense of being awake, but unable to move; trapped in the mind.

_Damn... it..._

Slowly, control is regained, and the eyes flutter open.

_Damn it..._

However, it is still dark and blurry. The eyes must adjust themselves.

_Damn it!_

A resurgence of feeling, of emotion. Rage is remembered. The mouth parts begin to work again, giving voice to the rage.

"Damn it, Hiroto!"

"Ah, Haruka. It's good to see you've awakened. I have been very lonely here in this rat hole of a laboratory. It will be pleasant to have a companion to watch this with."

Haruka's eyes finally adjusted, and she was able to see the cold, imperious face of the former Captain of the Hyuuga Guard. He peered at her from behind the same sneer and frosty silver-white eyes as before. She had not met him in some time, but the mutual contempt they held for each other was still there.

"Calling me by name this time?" she said, glaring at him. "What happened to 'Kin-abandoner?'"

"It seemed inappropriate and rather rude," Hiroto responded, "To use such a derogatory term for a fellow. I am myself a 'Kin-abandoner,' after all; there is a certain respect that I had hoped to have between myself and my fellows."

"If you're implying that we're anything alike, you bastard, I'd rather be gutted, cut up into a billion pieces and dumped in the ocean than call you family," Haruka said, spitting.

Hiroto gave her an awful grin. His eyes were lit up in an expression that seemed akin to glee. It made Haruka feel suddenly cold; something in that smile told her that she had just said something she would regret.

"Haruka, you should be careful what you wish for," he said. "Someone—and it need not at all be you—might get hurt." The former Captain lifted his arm and pointed towards a panel of glass.

Haruka had been too fixated upon her enemy to notice anything around her. Now that her attention was drawn to it, she could see that they were in some kind of old castle or fortress; all around them were stone corridors, dimly lit by torches, and she was no longer bound by modern shinobi wire but chained like a convict to a wall.

However, there had been modern improvements made to the castle. In front of her was a door and a glass window—possibly a one-way mirror—that allowed people standing in the corridor to look into the room where the door led. Inside the otherwise plain and empty room, electric lights illuminated a man standing over a long table. The man wore glasses and a Sound head protector tied below unnaturally white hair.

And on that table...

"K-K... Ke..."

Haruka was unable to speak. The thing on the table barely registered as human. It was dirty and bloody, with many large and unsightly scabs and scars. There were also surgical stitches and bandages, but these were only applied in critical areas where leakage was certain to lead to swift death. It looked indeed as though it had been gutted, chopped into a billion pieces, tossed into the ocean, and finally dragged up and reassembled. Its hair, long and hanging over the edge of the table, was even more filthy than the body, and it looked as though it had been used as a mop many times over. It was thin and starved, having lived on only IV fluid for several long days.

It had no eyes. The sockets alone were free of blood and scars, emphasizing that there had never been eyes there in the first place.

_Keisuke!_

Hiroto's evil smile grew, watching Haruka's expression of horror. So the reports had been true, after all. She really _was_ attached to him! If it were anyone else, she would not have looked twice at the bleeding mass on the operating table—more often than not, _she_ was herself the cause of such harm. Reveling in his victory, he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I feel so badly for you. You have the chance to watch the 'blind fool' suffer inexplicably painful retribution for his idiocy, and yet you are unable to enjoy it. I apologize. I must have damaged your capacity for pleasure when I knocked you out."

The comment, intended to induce despair, backfired. In the face of her helpless situation, engaging in mental sparring with her gave her an enemy that she could fight and counter, distracting her from the broader, less hopeful situation.

"Hmph!" she said, averting her eyes to the scene through the window. "I doubt it. I'll be plenty happy when I see you dead, you sneaking coward. You could have come out like a real man and fought for your cause, but you had to go and play sick in the middle of the biggest battle of our Clan's history, run away in the confusion, and take hostages to get what you want. You don't even deserve my anger, you..."

"I believe we have a misunderstanding to deal with," Hiroto interrupted. "I did not bring you here because I needed a hostage. I brought you here to sustain my bargain with the Cloud."

"Your bargain?" Haruka asked. "Wait, I see... when you said before that they had the wrong Hyuuga, you made a reference to a bargain. You said if the Cloud already had a Hyuuga, then they wouldn't have a reason to keep their end of the bargain."

"That is correct," Hiroto said.

"So, you offered the Cloud a Hyuuga in exchange for something else? It wouldn't be amnesty in the Lightning Country, would it? It makes sense, since there isn't any other damned place in the world where you'd be able to drag your slimy carcass safely."

Hiroto's smile grew even wider. "That was indeed part of the bargain. You are very perceptive, Haruka."

"Quit smiling like you've already won, back-stabber. What do you mean, 'part of the bargain?' What else was there?"

"You forget who is in the dominant position here, prisoner," Hiroto sneered. "But I will forgive your impudence for now. Yes, there was more to the bargain, but that is another matter, important only to our honorable host and myself. You needn't strain your mind worrying over it. More importantly, there is the matter of the second reason I brought you here. That is..."

He motioned to the glass window again. Kabuto was preparing his surgical tools and laying a cover over Keisuke's body, leaving only the head exposed. As if on queue, Keisuke opened his mouth, emitting a scream of imagined agony; though nothing had touched him yet, his dreams were bringing him more pain than the scalpel ever would.

"... to allow you to watch the fine spectacle before you," Hiroto finished. Sneering, he turned and began to walk away.

Haruka had her eyes glued to the "spectacle." It was a piteous sight, and she could almost feel the throbbing of his wounds in her own body. It was only the laborious thumping of her own heart. Yet she kept herself calm as her captor disappeared through another door. Only when Hiroto was gone did she permit herself to show any weakness.

"I'm sorry," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm so close, and I can't do anything. I'm sorry, Keisuke!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hinata woke with a start, shooting bolt-upright in an instant. A loud noise—a feral yelp—had pierced the night, disturbing her rest. Pearly white eyes wide open, she shot a glance to the other end of the tent, to where Naruto was sleeping, searching for the source of the yelp. Physically, nothing appeared to be wrong with him, but he was twitching crazily in his bedroll and gritting his teeth. Hinata thought she could hear whimpering.

She remembered these symptoms. Recalling a previous night, which seemed so long ago, she guessed the problem at once. A quick check would confirm it. Wide awake now, she brought chakra up to her head, activating her doujutsu.

"**Byakugan!"**

The white eyes looked through the bedroll, clothing, and skin to peer in at the chakra circulatory system. They found what Hinata had suspected; the red chakra of Kyuubi was active. No, worse than that; it was growing stronger! Hinata felt panic clawing at her heart, vying for control of her body, but she forced it down.

Something in his dream must have been behind this, she reasoned. The first logical step would be to try to wake him up.

"Naruto-kun?" she asked, shaking him gently by the shoulders. He failed to awaken, however, and the red chakra continued to spread. Soon, she no longer needed the Byakugan to see it. It was trying to take over!

Inside Naruto's mind, the real reason behind the night terror was indeed trying to take over, testing its powers to see how much control it could get. It had plenty of ammunition to throw at the true Naruto; Haruka's disappearance and three days of planning had made Kyuubi's belittling tirade strong, while three days of straight training and exhaustion had made Naruto's psyche weaker. As a result, the demon fox was already gaining a lot of ground.

When Naruto failed to respond, Hinata felt dread overcome her. She had seen for herself what that monster could do to Naruto, and remembered the burning beast that her loved one had become. Under no circumstances did she want to repeat that experience. She was terrified of it! But the only thing she could think of to counter it was the last thing that she wanted to subject him to.

Naruto's twitching had gotten worse. His body had become hot under her hands. His terrible whimpering was intensifying. Hinata was caught tightly in the grip of fear.

She had no other choice. Bringing her hand up before her, she formed the secret family seal that activated the Caged Bird Curse. Hinata hated doing this, but she could think of nothing else. With a silent apology, she focused her chakra and activated it for a fraction of a second.

Naruto gasped in agony that lasted only half of a heartbeat but was enough to fill in a year. The seal across his forehead—the very same one which he had taken in place of Hinata—flashed once, and the seal on his navel subsided from the Byakugan's vision as Kyuubi's fire went out. It was withdrawing to tend the wounds which Hinata had inflicted.

"Naruto-kun!"

But this victory was less gratifying than the blond ninja's abrupt return to wakefulness. When Hinata saw his beautiful blue eyes open again, and heard him exhale a breath that was free of any expression of pain, she felt her dread evaporate. It was replaced with an intense emotional relief which overtook her body, causing her to latch onto Naruto in a tight hug and bury her face in his chest.

"Huh?" Naruto said intelligently. One moment he'd been drowning in misery before Kyuubi with no hope in sight, then there had been a flash of white fire, and now he was awake in his tent with something soft pressed up against him. He felt warm moisture begin to soak into his shirt and brought his hand up to touch it. Instead of his shirt, his fingers felt long, silky hair.

Then his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. He recognized the girl crying quietly into his chest.

"Hinata?" he asked, totally confused. "Wha... what...?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," Hinata said. Her voice was muffled by his shirt. "I was so frightened... the red chakra, the kitsune... I didn't want to do it, but I had to..."

"What? Didn't want to do what, now?" The boy was struggling to make sense of things through the darkness and through the lingering pain in his head. He remembered the fox, that was for sure. Had his body emitted the red chakra while he was in Kyuubi's cage? It certainly seemed possible...

"The seal," Hinata said, lifting her head to look at him. "I-I was panicking, and I couldn't think of anything else, so..."

Oh, yeah. The seal. He could feel it burning up there on his head, the aftereffects of the curse being activated. It wasn't as bad as it had been when Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi, had used it—maybe Hinata had cut it off immediately after starting to spare him as much pain as possible—but it had definitely been used recently. Naruto finally understood exactly what had happened.

He ran his hand soothingly through Hinata's long, midnight hair. The girl had a marvelously pretty bed-head.

"Don't worry about it, Hinata-chan," he said. "If anything, I'm the one who should be sorry..."

Though he had meant to say more, he found himself silenced by the sight of the girl's face beneath him. He had been captivated by her eyes before, back in Konoha. This was a completely different experience. The light of the moon and stars reflected on the wet pools of her lovely eyes, and illuminated her pale skin so that she almost seemed to glow. It stirred something within Naruto, a feeling of true apology; he deeply regretted having made so beautiful a creature so sad, and he wanted to fix it with all his being.

"No, Naruto-kun," she said, bringing him out of his trance, "It wasn't your fault that I panicked, or that I had to do... do _that_ to you." She put her head back into his chest.

Wait a minute, this wasn't right! _He_ was the one who was supposed to be taking the blame, damn it! _He's_ supposed to be the stoic guy who takes responsibility like a man and looks good in front of the pretty girl by doing so! Naruto wasn't going to let it end this way, oh no.

But she didn't seem to want to let him take the blame. It never occurred to Naruto that this might involve the fact that she always thought well of him no matter what he did, and so he thought of it as a challenge of his manhood. If he was a good and decent guy, he would find some way to make her listen to him and then prove _he_ deserved all the blame.

So how to make her listen? Oh, wait a second, he knew a way. Stroking the back of her head and shoulders with his hand—it really _was_ pleasant, feeling how soft her hair was—and lowered his head. His puckered lips touched the top of her head in a gentle kiss.

_Well?_ Naruto thought, _Did I get your attention yet?_

He certainly did; Hinata's head lifted up to look at him once more, and her cheeks were aflame. Score! Put some points on the board for Uzumaki Naruto.

"Hinata," he said, now that she was listening, "If I had taken better care of myself to begin with, I would have been strong enough to handle it on my own. If I had listened to my body, you wouldn't have had to do that. I brought this on myself. Do you get what I'm saying?"

It seemed for a long moment that she didn't. She simply stayed there, resting against him, staring up into his face with wide eyes and a deep red discoloration. Naruto grew worried for a second—had his logic fried her brain? He could remember a time when Haruka's logic, used in an effort to lay blame on Keisuke for stealing some dango. The logic had not only fried Naruto's brain, but had so confused the shopkeeper that he had eventually given up, let both Keisuke and Haruka off scott-free, and walked back into his shop complaining of a massive headache. Was Hinata having the same problem?

Eventually, however, she came out of her funk. Blinking twice to clear her eyes and wiping her face dry with one hand, she nodded.

"I'm just glad you're all right," she said.

Her genuine care for him, etched in every line of her face and in the relief showing in her eyes, touched Naruto. He had never seen this kind of emotion directed at him so intensely. The only person who had even come close was his old academy instructor, Iruka-sensei. Something grew within him: appreciation. He was lucky to have a person like Hinata care for him this much.

"Hey," he said, "I'm really sorry that I had you all worried. I'm fine now."

"Oh," she said, calm once more, "It's really all right. I hope you sleep well, Naruto-kun..."

Though Naruto could tell that she was happy to know he was fine, she seemed a bit disappointed as she disentangled herself from him. He didn't blame her; he didn't know why, but it had felt really nice being so close to her like that. It occurred to him that perhaps, if both of them were disappointed about the same thing, it might behoove him to speak up.

"Hey," he said, "You know, that felt really nice... calmed me down. If you like, you could stay over here and sleep with me... oh, uh, wait..."

_Crap, _he thought, _that was bad! Way too easy to misinterpret, the way I said that! If this were Sakura, I'd already be dead!_ He ducked and covered his head with his hands, hoping she wouldn't hit him too hard.

Luckily for him, Hinata was not Sakura, and did not hit him. Unluckily for him, Hinata was not Sakura, and passed out, falling to the ground next to him. He opened his eyes when he heard her hit the floor, and stared gawking at the spot where she landed.

"I have got to be," he said to himself, "The biggest dumbass in the history of male-female relationships."

But he didn't dwell too long on that. He got up from his bedroll and walked to the other end of the tent, retrieving Hinata's blanket so that she would not get cold. Then he climbed back into bed, pulled his blanket up, then pulled Hinata up next to him.

_There, I kept a blanket between us. Nothing creepy or perverted about that._

Finally, he pulled Hinata's blanket over them both. The end result was her resting lightly on top of his arm and against his side. It was not long before she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Naruto even thought he could see her smile a little.

"Well, I'm glad you're not complaining," he said quietly. "I won't feel guilty about it in the morning, then. Sleep tight, Hinata-chan."

He closed his own eyes, then, remembering his own exhaustion. In minutes, he also was asleep.

Kyuubi did not bother him again that night.

OoOoOoOo Super-Fluff no Jutsu! End of Chapter Ten oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **While Naruto has finally found the solution to his repeated nightmares and created a fantastic new jutsu, the journey is not over yet! How will he perfect the new technique and use it to help his friends? What will the others think of their nocturnal behavior? And how will Haruka weather the emotional storm of Keisuke's terrible fate?


	13. C11: Flicker of Hope

**A/N: **Happy times! Hope everyone had a good Christmas and is getting set for a great new year. Great things are going to be happening for sure in 2007. Now that my Christmas break is done, I'm ready to rip again.

But what the heck is up with the anime crew? The fillers just keep getting more and more off... at this rate, Naruto's going to be spending most of his three years just doing unimportant stuff at home. Seriously, he looks to have spent nearly half a year there already.

**Chapter Eleven: Flicker of Hope**

The sun came up as it would have on any other day, though not without some signs of irregularity. There was a certain dullness to the colors in the sky that accompanied the sunrise, as though its significance had somehow diminished in the face of unpleasant events to come. Whether it was a physical change or a trick of the anxious mind, however, one thing was certain: the war was not slowing down.

Scouting the area the previous evening, Kiba, Sakura, and Shino had watched the army from the Land of Earth pass by to the south of their camp. The enemy scouts they had captured before had not been lying. Shino and Akamaru, from their hiding places, confirmed that enemy shinobi circled above the army in the trees and below it, underneath the ground. They were mere days from a full assault on the Sand forward base; if defensive preparations were even slightly late in completion, many allied soldiers and shinobi might fall, and the counteroffensive might be delayed. Nobody wanted to imagine how high the death count might rise if the war was allowed to drag on.

Yet there was more to their worries; Kiba was the first, but not the last, one to pick up the silent enemy stalking them. At least one of the elite Cloud ninja had been following them on their little excursion. Having realized this, both Kiba and Sakura spent much of their time looking over their shoulders. Only Shino remained completely calm and focused on the reconnaissance. This added to the discomfort of his teammates, that he should be so calm when it would be easy for the powerful wind user to destroy them, or for one of the weaker ones to draw the enemy army to their location.

Oddly enough, though, Shino's utter lack of concern was vindicated, and they were able to carry out their recon mission unmolested. When asked how he had known they would be fine, Shino replied somewhat cryptically, supplying many _possible_ reasons for their safety but skirting around the real reason that he _knew_. We are not their targets, he had said, and we are not in their way at the moment. They want only to keep an eye on us, though they could kill us now, because it does not aid in their larger scheme. So it was that the team returned to camp worried, confused, and nervous.

Naturally, it took Kiba and Sakura a moment to pull themselves back into a more aware state of mind before they noticed Jiraiya standing beside the tent that Naruto was supposed to be sleeping in. Once they noticed this, it took them another moment to realize what this meant. On his own, it was not unusual for Jiraiya to look in on his pupil—despite his perversity and self-centeredness, he had a soft spot for the youngster. However, once one remembered that Naruto was not the only one in the tent, the implications became radically different. And anything that Ero-Sennin could look at with that goofy smile on his face couldn't be sanitary conversation.

Sakura was on her feet and stalking toward him the moment she realized what was going on. "Jiraiya-sama," she said, clearly out of patience for these antics, "Please tell me that you're not looking at what I think you're looking at."

Jiraiya pretended not to hear her, opting instead to comment on his observations. "That Naruto... he just keeps surprising me. He might be more talented than I..."

"Jiraiya-sama!" Sakura exclaimed. "Please, stop trying to draw attention away from yourself. Naruto was practically comatose when we brought him here, there's no way he'd be able to... to do what you're trying to make me think he did. And aren't you supposed to be watching _him?_" She pointed towards the tent that housed the captive Sasuke. "What if he got away while you were playing around out here?"

"Sasuke hasn't moved," said Jiraiya simply.

"How do you know that?" Sakura asked. "You don't have eyes in the back of your..."

"I have my ways."

Sakura was about to protest even more vehemently, but Neji came behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Jiraiya-sama is correct," he said. "I looked. Uchiha Sasuke is still in the tent, and he is not moving. It's useless to question the methods of one of the Legendary Three, Sakura, but he knows what he is doing. What is this you're saying about Naruto?"

"He says that Naruto was a wild dog last night. Apparently letting Hinata watch him wasn't a good idea," said Kiba, coming over. Shino accompanied him, looking unfazed by any of the conversation. Everyone turned their heads to look at him.

Sakura was adamant. "Even if he somehow recuperated enough to move in only a few hours," she said, "Naruto's a much more mature guy now. He knows how to control himself..."

"Are you sure?" Kiba asked with a smirk, intentionally playing with her head. "This _is_ Naruto we're talking about, after all!"

"Hehe..." Jiraiya chuckled. "Why not see for yourself? Open the flap."

Nobody moved to open it. Something in the way Jiraiya said that intimidated them. They were stuck in place, wavering in their conviction that he was wrong. His eyes regarded them with gentle amusement, as a grandparent might laugh softly at a naïve child and think, well, they'll find out the hard way. It was unnerving.

Finally, though, Neji's curiosity regained its strength, and his Byakugan opened. He peered through the thin layering of the tent to see the occupants within, hoping against hope that he was not going to see what he thought he was going to see. Much to his dislike, if not his surprise—for Jiraiya's comments had altered his expectations in their odd way—he found his cousin sleeping under the same blanket with Naruto.

"Naruto... Hinata-sama!" he gasped. He had half-expected it, but it was still gave him a jolt in the head. His overprotective sibling instinct went into overdrive for a moment, and he was prepared to rip open the tent flap and take corrective action.

However, he took a second look, and more careful observation gave him pause. His Byakugan revealed that though they were indeed under the same blanket and on the same bedroll, they also had a second blanket between them. Naruto _had_ been able to exercise some control after all. And the way Hinata's head was resting comfortably against his shoulder, the manner in which her arm draped over his chest, and how he had his arm curled almost protectively around her shoulders—the scene was almost palpably happy. He knew that he had made a mistake.

"NARUTO!!"

Sakura, however, interpreted things differently. Hearing Neji's exclamation, she developed an ugly frown that hadn't been seen in some time. Neji knew, as she opened the tent flap, that she'd jumped to the same conclusion that he'd been about to. She, however, did not have the Byakugan to see beneath that first sheet and clarify things for her.

Neji winced. Naruto was going to be in a sizable amount of pain soon.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

As the team traversed a low, green valley into the north, the Leaf shinobi were all both surprised and comforted to observe Naruto doing so well. Despite having been the victim of the first pre-emptive Sakura-strike in ages, he was a far cry from the Naruto that they had been walking with for the last three days. He was still working himself like a dog with his training, but he was far more energetic now, and highly optimistic. It was as if he were physically radiating hope and exuberance. He truly resembled, for the first time in days, the Naruto that they knew of old.

This would not be at all unexpected to one who knew all of the facts. He had slept well for the first time since the beginning of the war, and with a pretty girl next to him, to boot. The statuette of the Yondaime that he carried in his pack was still whole—a sign, to him, that Haruka and therefore Keisuke were still alive, for he knew in his heart that they were partners to the end. Neither Keisuke nor Haruka could die while the other still survived. He himself was one step closer to vindicating that belief, as his and Hinata's new jutsu was among the most powerful that had ever graced the physical plane.

No matter that the jutsu wasn't ready for actual combat at the moment; Naruto was confident that he could work out the kinks. He practiced it as he walked alongside Hinata and the others, building up the Rasengan and then slowly working in his nature manipulation, watching the sphere for signs of instability and stopping to correct it when he found one. The goal was to train his perception and concentration with each attempt until he could speed the process up to a short enough preparation time. Between his newfound mastery over Futon ninjutsu and Hinata's careful coaching, he was sure that he'd be able to accomplish it in time. Even though progress was pitifully slow at the moment, decreasing the preparation time only by as much as a half-second and as little as nothing at all, he remained jubilant.

Because of this, his teammates all seemed to take some heart, despite his repeated failures with the jutsu. Jiraiya watched his student with measurable pride, his large frame erect and tall with almost fatherly exultation. Sakura, once Neji and Hinata had explained her misunderstanding that morning to the embarrassment of all parties involved, had watched him with the same smiling awe and respect as she always had when she saw her teammate work, perhaps amplified by the fact that she had masked her awe with worry for him in his recent rough days. Hinata, of course, was happy to have him the way he was, and helped in his training with a smile on her face, though the tinge of embarrassment that she'd had that morning had not yet entirely faded away. Kiba would make glad and approving comments every now and then, at which Akamaru would bark and Shino would nod in agreement. Even Neji, despite being stuck with Sasuke at the front of the pack, seemed to be handling his situation less grudgingly than usual.

Perhaps this was also due to the fact that the traitor had become unexpectedly mellow and cooperative since the battle in the mountains. He still threw out a snide comment here and there, and his expression was for the most part unreadable as usual, but he had stopped making things difficult for Neji and his company. Whether the loss of his old friends' attention had gotten to him or he had realized that his resistance was not getting him anywhere, it was a pleasant development for the Hyuuga leader.

All in all, the day seemed to progress very smoothly, even with the war hanging over their heads and the danger they knew was ahead. Therefore, when they settled down to camp for the evening, it was not surprising that everyone was in a good mood and eager to relax a bit, relieving their stresses.

"Don't get too comfortable," Neji warned at the evening meal. "Anything could still happen, out here." Even so, he was smiling and leaning back slightly while he ate, savoring the calm before the storm along with everyone else. Though his senses were still attentive to the area, he was not about to let a much-needed chance like this slip away entirely.

Neither, apparently, was Naruto. The moment the meal was over, he dragged Hinata roughly to her feet, insisting with a wide smile that she come and practice with him until nightfall. Neji grinned, looking at his cousin's startled reaction and the gracious manner in which she accepted Naruto's demand. Being with an energetic guy like Naruto might be a little rough, but she was handling it well—just as Neji would expect from his future leader. Naruto was good for her in that regard, too.

The silver-eyed jounin watched the two of them spar one-on-one, a rarity for them; normally, Hinata and Naruto would train against others on the team. Neji had to admit, however, that it was certainly a spectacle worth watching. He could sense without looking the vibrant power in Naruto's movements and almost swore that he could feel the air part around his fist as it flew forward. He looked more intently at them, trying to see if Naruto had applied nature manipulation to his immediate aura. He found no sign of it, though. The only thing he saw was Hinata gracefully dodging around the blow and countering with one of her own. There was no chakra in the Jyuuken-style attack, so it would not have hurt at all, but Naruto employed all of the agility he possessed to avoid it; it appeared to be a very serious mock-battle.

As much as he wanted to continue watching, there was more work to be done for him that evening, before darkness claimed the landscape. Rising to his feet, he crossed the camp to the place where Sasuke sat. It was unfortunate to have to leave the show for this, but if all went well it might have been the last time he would have to.

"Show me," Neji commanded. His command was obeyed without delay, though with clear lack of pleasure. Sasuke promptly stood and began walking north away from the camp, seemingly untroubled by further walking. He seemed to have something else on his mind.

Neji followed him, alert and cautious, but optimistic nonetheless. He motioned to Kiba, and the dog ninja came along with them, Akamaru at his heels. Reasoning that this should be enough for safety in case of an emergency, the team leader went forth with a friend and a traitor into the unknown landscape.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Keisuke had finally forced himself to stop crying out in his dreams. After all, the only thing it had ever accomplished was to please his captors. Simply standing there and grieving silently did the same work while providing half the satisfaction to the enemy. Still, it would have been nice to be able to control the vivid dream.

He knew that he was nearing the end of his torment. The tactic of subjecting him to fleeting moments of past pleasures had hurt a lot, especially when the nightmares began again, but he was past the worst of that unpleasant shock. He had managed to get through the happier years of his married life with little troubles, and had survived the trouble that followed.

Keisuke had witnessed the birth and growth of his incredible son with a mixture of pride and a terrible dread of what came after. Though the child was highly intelligent and blessed with the Byakugan—a talent that both Yuka and Keisuke himself had been eager to brag about in their community—he was also incredibly ambitious, and anything possessing or symbolic of power instantly caught his attention. He had a drive to be the best that rivaled Naruto's, but a way of going about it that would have fit Sasuke more than Keisuke's orange-clad "little brother." Unlike Sasuke, however, he did not have the same reason for wanting power. In fact, the dream Keisuke had been unable to determine any reason at all, and therefore he had thought his son's desire for strength to be simply childish and benign.

An event occurred, however, which made a purpose clear to the young son of the blind man.

The town in which Keisuke and his family had lived was on the outskirts of a very large city, in what was the present-day Water Country. In those days, the city had flourished grandly because of its thriving port, its bountiful marketplace, and because of its many ancient and glorious religious monuments. The most noteworthy of these monuments was a massive temple that had stood for centuries on its sturdy foundation, which received many tourists daily due to the brilliant, refined architecture, incredible size, and great age. Nobody was certain which god or goddess the building had first been dedicated to, but it hardly mattered; there were enough spaces to build shrines to them all, and in recent years the priests had done just that, making it a universal place of worship for all believers.

Keisuke had taken his son to that temple on the boy's eleventh birthday. All had gone well, and the boy had been impressed with the almost regal manner in which the supports held aloft the roof of the building. Keisuke had known that his son appreciated things of size and grandeur, and was glad that he had guessed correctly in thinking that he would enjoy seeing this. They had toured the entire building enthusiastically, until the sun set and the temple keepers gently ushered them out.

In the past, Keisuke had mistaken the boy's long glance back at the majestic temple for childish pouting. He'd thought that the requests to go back again and again were a genuine interest in the building and the daily activities that transpired within it. He had seen no harm in letting his son, his talented and self-sufficient only son, return there by himself on several occasions, sometimes not returning until long after dark. Presently, he wished he had not been so damned naïve.

At last, on the cold winter night of the boy's sixteenth birthday, Yuka became extremely worried when their son did not come back home in the evening at all. With the hour approaching midnight, she had pleaded with Keisuke to go and find him in the city, to find out what had happened to him. Keisuke, having grown worried and confused himself, hastily pulled on his heavy deer-hide jerkin and best leather boots and rushed into the city, taking only a long knife with him for protection. Within twenty minutes of hard running across frozen streets, he had arrived before the temple.

But the temple had been locked and empty. When he called out hoarsely for the keepers to answer him, they told him that the boy had left for home hours ago.

While the Keisuke in the dream grew increasingly disquieted and confused, the real Keisuke observed on, unable to escape or intervene, but for once resigned to the dreadful confrontation that would follow. His dream self traced the route from the temple to his home furiously, crunching his boots down every nearby alley and through every open door, calling out and finding nothing. With every step he became more agitated, until finally he hung his head in defeat and decided to return home.

Now the moment that the real Keisuke had been dreading was at hand. He stood by as his past self stumbled brokenly into his house, prepared to break the news to a devastated Yuka. When Yuka was not waiting by the door, however, he forgot about that worry.

"Yuka?" he called softly. No response came from within the house. As he wondered where she had gone to, he sensed the coldness of the air around him where there should have been warmth. The fire in the hearth had been put out, in the middle of winter.

"Yuka!" he yelled, frantically pounding through the rooms to his and Yuka's bedchamber. Had someone taken his son and his wife hostage? Would there be a ransom note? Could they be saved? Or... was it already too late to save anyone? His mind raced a mile a minute, trying to think of who he knew that would have tried—or even been able to, as his son and Yuka were both apt at defending themselves—to hurt his family as he stormed into the bedroom.

All of his questions were answered at once as he entered. The moment he had the door open, he felt the assault on his nostrils that told all. It was a reek that he knew all too well, knew from many years ago in his long-abandoned home town.

The reek of death. Someone had been inside the house and murdered Yuka in their bed.

"No..." he heard his dream self grate in disbelief as he sank to his knees and buried his head in his hands. "No... no, damn it! It's not happening!"

"But it is, father," answered a young voice. "It is all real. It is regrettable, yes, and I shall miss dear Mother terribly, but it is real, and it was necessary. Just as it was necessary for you to destroy your own father."

Keisuke wanted to curse, but at the moment his dream self was the one with a voice, and shock was preventing him from using it. He had just heard his own son calmly talk about the necessity of murdering his own mother; it was not surprising that such an experienced had silenced him.

"You will ask why, of course," continued the boy. "My explanation will resolve some of your other curiosities as well, for which you might be thankful. You will, of course, recall the first time that I visited the great temple in the city, and my disinclination to leave it. You probably thought, Father, that I was simply infatuated with the architecture of the building..." The dream Keisuke's head picked up. The child was more intelligent than he had given him credit for, and he had picked the worst time in which to manifest that intelligence.

He still did not speak, however, and the boy went on: "It is an understandable belief, but it was wrong. I yearned to return to the temple because of the presence that I had felt there. A powerful presence," said the boy, and Keisuke could feel his chakra flare almost as in reverence to the presence, "That captivated me utterly, calling to me. It wanted me to go to it, and so I gained your leave to go and returned several times, searching for it. For many days, I found nothing at all, for though I had the greatest of senses at my disposal, the temple keepers would have become suspicious if they had caught me rummaging..."

"You desecrated the temple?" the dream Keisuke asked faintly.

"It was not desecration, dear Father," said the child, haughtily. "It was the path to my destiny. Were it desecration, the gods would have struck me dead, would they not have? No, they left me alone, and eventually I succeeded in finding the source of the silent voice that called me."

The power in the boy's body seemed to flare even higher, exulting in the glory that he was reliving. Keisuke could feel it across the room, shifting, pulsing, and growing stronger at his son's command. His dream self raised his arms in front of his body, shielding himself from its brilliance.

"The presence belonged to a goddess, Father," the boy said. "She had come down from the spirit plane to reveal to me my purpose."

"Your purpose?" the dream Keisuke inquired. "What part of your purpose would require you to kill your own mother?!"

"I am just getting to that," said his son. "The goddess told me that my destiny is to become the greatest warrior in all the world, the head of an entire clan of ultimate warriors. I am to found a family of elite who will become the greatest military power in the world, thrive, and conquer, all in the goddess's name. My name will be Hyuuga, signifying the bright future of my family line. To this end, I must remove obstacles such as my mother, who despises war and death and who was content to have me live a simple life."

"Your mother supported you all your life, and would have supported you in anything you did in life!" yelled the dream Keisuke.

"Is that so? You know that she would have recognized my aims, aims that she does not agree with. At some point, she would have tried to dissuade me. The goddess knows that I am young and impressionable, and bid me eliminate this obstacle. It was a necessity to preserve my future, as killing your father was a necessity to preserve your life... or so the goddess told me."

The real Keisuke fought to keep from breaking down mentally as he observed through the dream's senses. He'd thought that he'd let this all go a long time ago, but the emotional agony that he suffered now revealed that the wound was not entirely healed, and the dream was agitating it further. He fought to hold on to his sanity, struggling while the dream him fought to understand.

"This goddess... told you that?" he heard himself say. "Who is this goddess of yours, anyway? What gives her the right to decide your purpose? What gives her the right to tell you to kill your mother?!"

The power of his young son was now greater than he had ever felt before. It filled the entire bedroom, drowning out all other feeling, overshadowing the stench of Yuka's corpse. Something was about to happen, and even the dream Keisuke could sense it.

"You know already, though you still ask... I will invoke her presence," his child said. "The goddess has instructed me to let her deal with you herself. Farewell, dear Father. If you survive, then may you live in as much comfort as you may for the remainder of your days."

"I know already..." the dream Keisuke whispered. "If that's the case," he yelled, "If she is who I think she is, then there is no way in hell that I will let you summon her!"

With that oath, Keisuke felt himself leap to his feet, draw his knife, and rush at his own son with murderous intent. This was hard enough on the real, thinking Keisuke, and it became harder still as his son began to fight back. Luckily, it was a short scuffle; despite being younger and much smaller, his son was very skilled and very agile. He also had the Byakugan at his disposal, and his intelligence had already—though the dream Keisuke had not known it—enabled him to develop a rudimentary Jyuuken attack. In less than a minute, the blind man fell to his son's swift and unexpected power, and lay helpless.

"I am truly sorry, my Father," said the son. "But it must be as she commands. Farewell."

There was then a burst of power that blotted out all of Keisuke's senses, and in that burst his son disappeared forever. In his place was a new aura—one that Keisuke did indeed recognize. It was dark and malevolent, and its presence made him tremble. It laughed at him with terrible contempt while it regarded him flat on his face before it. It was the same presence that he had felt on the night when he had first discovered the torment that had been inflicted on his own father.

He lying prone before the demoness that had once called herself his mother.

"_**Are you surprised to see me, Keisuke-chan?" **_she said, mocking him with the -chan suffix that she had used in his childhood. **_"Then again, you cannot see anything, but hearing me is enough. You who have been created to be my victim are finally able to understand what it is that happened to your father, and that which will happen to you and those who come after."_**

"Created to be..." the dream Keisuke said, unsure of what he'd heard. "Your... your victim? Mother, you had a child—me—only so that you could torment me? What trickery is this? What sort of mother would bear a son and not..."

"_**No trickery, fool,"**_ said the demoness. **_"One such as I, who has all of eternity before me, has no need to reproduce, except to create two kinds of useful beings. The first breed are victims—mortal degenerates like yourself, mutilated before even being born, upon whose pain, suffering, and occasionally chakra the creator can feed. The second are servants—mortals gifted with divine power from their creators, who exist to do their creator's will in exchange for that power. Do you understand what I am saying, blind wretch?"_**

Keisuke was silent a short time, before the evil words formed a conclusion. "My son," he said quietly.

"_**Yes!" **_crowed his mother. **_"Just as you exist to feed me, your offspring will exist to serve me. Through generations they will gain more and more power in my name, and their foes will provide the agony that I crave until the main course is prepared."_**

"Main course?" the bewildered Keisuke asked. "You can't mean... not me. I won't live that long!"

"_**Not in your natural lifespan, no, but I still prefer to let such a fine piece of torment age before consuming it. Like your human butchers with their meats, I have methods of doing so without damaging the prize in the process."**_

The laughter came forth again from her, reverberating like a dirge in the room. Keisuke covered his ears, but the racket was mind-piercing, and he heard it anyway. He could only grit his teeth and suffer through it, which was surely what the demon bitch wanted him to do, and what Orochimaru in the waking world wanted him to do.

And as he succumbed to the pain of the head-splitting laughter, he felt himself grow cold. It was gnawing cold, biting cold, which penetrated his limbs and slowly began to creep into his core. As it progressed, the affected parts became immobile, and he found that he could do nothing to resist it. His brain began to grow foggy.

"My child... you may have swayed him for now," he said, his strength ebbing. "But sooner or later he will realize your true nature. He knows the value of purity, nobility... when he finds out, he will fight you. And even if he doesn't, then his descendants will..."

The laughter increased, and the cold increased with it. Keisuke felt himself slipping under, and fought with all his might, though it was useless. The freezing had penetrated to his torso and would soon be at his brain. When that happened, he knew he would no longer feel, hear, or sense anything at all, and his resistance would be swallowed in the blanket of ice.

"**_Though they will strive for purity," _**the demoness said,**_ "Their existence was cursed from the moment of your birth. They are, and ever will be, damned. It is my hope that you do not rot here… I would very much like to see your anguished face when you meet them again…"_**

All became nothingness then. Keisuke's dream self had slipped into the long slumber that would last for many, many generations. His current self was left in limbo, fighting back horrible grief and anger, but his sanity was still somehow intact. Had his mind survived Orochimaru's dream torture? Or was there more to it?

He did not have time to find out. He felt something jar him awake from behind, and nothingness became mere black blindness as his senses returned to him.

His ears heard a door swing closed. The skin of his back felt rough stone beneath it; he had fallen. No—he had been dropped here. Orochimaru's group must have stopped for the time being, and they had chosen to deposit him here while they rested. He concentrated, listening around him, and heard voices. Orochimaru's voice, and Kabuto's. There was one other, as well, and Keisuke tried to sit up, get himself closer to the voice so that he could hear it. This was a mistake; his traumatized, tortured body disagreed with him, and he could not stop himself from gasping slightly in pain. He lay back down, knowing that this wasn't going to work. Instead, he concentrated harder, straining his ears until he could make out the third voice...

"So, what?" the voice was saying. "I have delivered what you have promised. The second prize is almost within your grasp because of it. Our deal is still unbroken, Orochimaru."

"Hiroto-sama," said Kabuto, "I advise you not to question Orochimaru-sama. He is not..."

"That is enough, Kabuto," said Orochimaru. "Hiroto-san is correct. He has fulfilled his end of our bargain, and despite the failure of the first specimen, we are still obligated to uphold our end. When we have confirmed that Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun are indeed in the Grave as we had planned, we will consummate the deal as promised."

"So," Hiroto asked, "It does not matter that the Great Father did not yield the results that you wanted?"

"No," Orochimaru assured him. "Admittedly, I had hoped he would not be a useless test subject, but there is no helping that now. He has surpassed all expectations by staying alive and sane, but this will only help draw his friends here, since they would be less inclined to come here only to recover his corpse. The surgery that Kabuto has performed on him will also enhance their desire to save him, especially because he will be too confused to escape for himself."

_Surgery? _Keisuke wondered. _I don't remember any surgery. Plus it hurts everywhere pretty equally, so I can't really tell where..._

"What about the other prisoner?" Hiroto asked. "Can I kill her now, or does this jutsu that you plan to teach me require me to wait?"

"Caring for her has not been pleasant, Hiroto-san?" asked Orochimaru.

"Not pleasant in the least," Hiroto affirmed.

There was a pause; Orochimaru seemed to be considering something. Keisuke waited, wondering what other prisoner they were talking about. As he wondered, an itch plagued his head, right around the sides of his nose. He moved his arm—wincing in pain as he did so—up to scratch it, only to encounter a cloth that had been pulled over the entire upper half of his face. What was this? He didn't find out, as the conversation took his attention again.

"Kabuto, kindly retrieve the other prisoner and lock her in here. I believe Keisuke-san has tired of our company considerably, and should be appreciative of something new."

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama."

Keisuke heard them exiting the room. At first he was glad to have them gone, and excited at the prospect of some better company. Any of Orochimaru's enemies was better than Orochimaru himself! As the wait wore on, however, the itch in his head became a burning pain, and he began to feel that any company would be welcome, as long as it distracted him from this horrible discomfort. He waited several long minutes in grueling agony, shifting his limbs painfully to distract himself from the pain in his head, and then having to relive the mental pain of his dreams to distract himself from that. This vicious cycle continued over and over, until he felt ready to die.

At last, he heard the door open again, and heard feet slapping hard against the stone floor as someone was roughly thrust inside. He heard Kabuto's voice say, "Play nice, now, you two. We don't want Uncle Kabuto to have to punish anyone, do we?"

Neither Keisuke nor the other prisoner responded to his terrible humor. Sensing that he could do no further damage, Kabuto closed the door behind him, leaving Keisuke all alone with his pain and this stranger.

The stranger was quiet. _Probably shock,_ Keisuke reasoned. _Maybe she was recently captured? I wonder what Orochimaru and that bastard want her for._ She wasn't apparently going to say anything, however, and Keisuke didn't hear her make any move to sit down, or even to move at all. _Poor thing, it looks like I'll have to break the ice. I wonder if my voice still works?_

It was difficult to get his dry vocal chords to work, but eventually he managed to cough and swallow it into a comfortable enough state. Once he was going, he felt he was able to talk without difficulty. At that point, he addressed his cell mate.

"So," he said, trying to sound casual as he could in this forsaken place, "What did you do to get here?"

"Hmph," said the other prisoner. "I come all this way to save your sorry blind ass, and you don't even thank me. Hell, you haven't even thanked me for saving your descendants, yet..."

Keisuke was dumbstruck. No way had he heard that voice. He was imagining things.

"Do you know just how hard I tried to find you? I terrified half of the Sound forces to try to get them to tell me where you were. You could at least show some kind of appreciation."

He wasn't imagining it! There was no mistaking it. There was sadness in the voice, yes, and a little fear and exhaustion. There was also something else in her voice that sounded suspiciously like relief. These emotions rarely found their way out of _that_ mouth, but the voice definitely belonged to her. Keisuke felt a sudden wave of gladness wash over him.

"You!" he gasped. "Haruka, you have _no_ idea..."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Neji stood at the edge of the valley's green grass and trees, looking out into the sunset and the land that fell under it, directly below him. This morning, before the start of their walk, he had asked Sasuke where they were along their route. After some deliberation, he had convinced their traitor guide to lead him to a better vantage point, from which Sasuke told him he would be able to see for himself where they were.

They had been led by Sasuke through the valley until they came to a place where the verdure and wildlife stopped abruptly. From that point onward, the ground fell away, as if it had just sunken and slumped until it had made a depression in the middle of the valley that was several hundred feet deep and as wide as the rest of the valley. It was bordered on one side by the green ledge where the group stood and on the two perpendicular sides by twin mountain ranges. The far side was too far away to see.

"Whoa," Kiba said. "Check this out! You can see for kilometers ahead from here! Too bad it's all dirt and dust. That's a damned big crater we have there."

"It's not all dirt and dust," Sasuke said. "There used to be a settlement in this 'crater.' The ruins of that settlement is where Orochimaru was planning to go next."

"Eh?" Kiba questioned. "I don't see anything out there. What do you think, Neji?"

Neji's Byakugan was already active and peering down into the land of dust. After very little searching, he found formations of wood and stone approximately two kilometers away from them that looked as though they might be the remains of a small village.

"I see them," Neji said. "It appears that you have not been misleading us, Uchiha."

"What?" Kiba said, surprised. "So you mean... we're here?"

"That's correct, Kiba," Neji replied. "This is the place where our mission will commence."

Kiba whistled as he looked down at it again. He'd heard some things about the place they were supposed to be going to, but he had thought that they'd been exaggerated. It really _was_ the most barren wasteland he'd ever seen. Besides those ruins that Neji claimed to see, there was nothing in that hole in the ground other than barren dirt, some rocks, and maybe a little bit of wind. There was no way that anything could be living in such a blasted place. However, this was where they would need to survive, until they found their targets and completed their mission.

They had found the Grave.

OoOoOoOo Falling Asleep At Keyboard. End Chapter Eleven oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **Team Neji has arrived at the Grave, the site of their reconnaissance and rescue mission. Have they arrived before their opposition, or did Orochimaru beat them to it? How will the team prepare for the operation? And what will happen to Keisuke and Haruka, who have at last been reunited in hell?


	14. C12: Catastrophe

**A/N: **Back-to-back chapters today, as the ideas in my head are crying out for expression RIGHT NOW. Also, I will be spending most of Sunday and the next day at my best buddy's place playing hack-and-slash video games, so if I don't write this now then it won't be written for about three days, and I know that just isn't acceptable. Here yeh go!

**Chapter Twelve: Catastrophe**

Though the sun was showing only its final cinder of the evening, there was still plenty of light left for the trio to make it back to the camp from the border of the grave. Kiba was the only one to show his edginess and excitement—the prospect of a normal, straightforward, small-scale operation with no chance of civilians caught in the crossfire, along with the desire to finally get back at the mastermind behind two attacks on his hometown, made him almost uncontrollably excited. Though Neji and Sasuke did not show near the same amount of emotion, Neji was having his share of excitement and anxiety inside his head.

_It is only a reconnaissance and rescue mission,_ he thought to himself, _but it feels like it won't end up being the mission that we signed on for. There is something in this place that that smacks of disaster. I cannot see it, even with these eyes, but it is definitely there. Something important. Something dangerous. Something that will change the scope of our mission entirely. _He frowned for a moment, having had no intention of making anything big out of this excursion. However, his frown disappeared quickly, replaced by a small smile. _I suppose I should have known, since Naruto is at the core of the mission..._

He and his band approached the camp just as the last visible sliver of the sun dropped out of sight. Everyone was still safe and sound there. Shino was sitting quietly by the fire, receiving reports from his insects who were flying short patrols of the camp perimeter. He nodded as Neji entered the camp, indicating that he had been aware of their coming. Sakura was smiling slightly as she checked through the team's equipment, making certain that all electronic gear was operational and that all weapons were in good condition. Every once in a while, she would glance over her shoulder to peek at what Naruto and Hinata were doing, and whenever she did this, her smile grew a little brighter.

She had good reason for this; the pair had stopped sparring against each other and were now fighting Jiraiya two-on-one, and they were doing very well. Neji did not have to use the Byakugan to know that Naruto had initiated the Synchronization technique with his Reiude, for he could see it plainly in their teamwork, coordination, and effectiveness. Naruto was incarnate stamina and power, while Hinata was incarnate lethal subtlety, and together they worked like two halves of the same coin. Neji was unsure how much of his full strength and ability Jiraiya was using, but at his current level of combat this mock-fight was an even match.

The intricacy of the Synchronized fighting style amazed Neji. He had experienced it for himself once, fighting alongside Keisuke in a tunnel full of false Sound Shinobi. However, he had been unpracticed in the style, and though it had been effective in his case, the level which his cousin and her formerly secret crush had brought it to was nothing short of astounding. It was a very versatile style, and many tactics could be employed through its use, as the two were currently demonstrating.

One pattern Neji recognized the moment he entered the camp. Naruto would occupy his teacher by pummeling away at him hand-to-hand tenaciously with hands, feet and his blazing Tails of Light, rendering the great Gama-Sennin unable to do anything but parry and dodge and try to counter-attack when he saw a chance. Naruto's form had improved significantly in his three years of training; there were not many such chances. Meanwhile, Hinata would be dancing in and out of the melee, maneuvering into position for an attack when she saw the opportunity and gliding away when none presented itself. She never stayed in the mix long enough to take a hit; she went in, using her connection to Naruto to determine which angle of attack was safest, took a shot at the big hermit if she could, and then got out. This was the tactic that Neji had used with Keisuke in the underground fortress, different only in that Keisuke had used the Kage Bunshin technique to keep multiple opponents occupied simultaneously. Though neither party had any time or room to use ninjutsu on the other, Hinata was strong in the taijutsu department just as all Hyuuga were; if she scored one or two direct hits, any normal opponent would fall to their knees.

As Neji continued to watch, Jiraiya knocked Naruto aside, causing him to sail toward a nearby large tree and create a bunshin to help him make an aerial course-correction. Though Naruto avoided colliding into the tree in this manner, his being thrown away left Hinata vulnerable, as was Jiraiya's apparent intent.

But the pair merely changed combat styles to adjust to this development. It was now Hinata who kept Gama-Sennin occupied, dodging and dancing around repeated blows, striking towards him just often enough to keep him focused on her. Now it was Naruto's turn to strike from outside the melee, but he did not do so with taijutsu as Hinata would have. Instead he used the advantage of distance and his free hands to attack with ninjutsu.Neji could see the sense in this, for Hinata, who was much nimbler than Naruto, could react and leap away from the incoming ninjutsu much more easily than Naruto could, and because she possessed the Byakugan and could feel Naruto's actions through the Synch, she had a very great head start on Jiraiya. Neji felt especially pleased with the two of them when he saw Gama-Sennin caught in an instant sinkhole, courtesy of a Reiude Trap Seal.

If this were a real battle, Naruto and Hinata would have implemented their endgame, possibly in the form of some glamorous combination attack that Naruto had devised. However—much to Kiba's disappointment, for he had been entertained by some of the more clever finishing combinations—they did not see the need to this time, instead choosing to stop for the night. Hinata was kind enough to offer Jiraiya a hand with climbing out, but the Sannin had apparently been suppressing some of his power after all, for he broke out of the earth with hardly a strained muscle.

"Damn," Kiba said when Naruto came to join them, "That was some pretty amazing stuff you guys were doing out there. I bet you're proud of that, huh?"

"You know I am!" Naruto said. "If we can fight this well, there shouldn't be a lot to worry about, even if our new jutsu isn't finished yet. How close are we to this Grave place, anyway? We'd better not be going through any of those neutral towns again..."

"I hope not," Sakura said, looking up from her task. "I've had enough of the front lines. Too much noise, too much destruction, too much death..."

"Too much at risk," Kiba said solemnly, by way of agreement. Nobody had to question him to know what he meant by that.

Neji did not answer that comment. Instead, he looked between Naruto and Sakura several times over. They seemed to be okay now, but what would happen to that once they figured out that the real mission was almost upon them? There was one way to find out. As Hinata came to join the gathering and Naruto beamed at her, he could not help but smile and feel sorry that he had to break their moment of triumph so prematurely.

"Hinata-sama," he said slightly apologetically, "I am going to borrow Naruto for a while. He and I and Sakura-san have something that we need to do before tomorrow."

He was not surprised to see Naruto look nervously down at Hinata's head, almost as if asking permission. Something _had _happened in the tent last night, Neji thought. It might not have been the inappropriate act that he had originally thought, but something between them had deepened. He was unsure whether to feel happy for them or to be afraid that it had come at one of the worst of times, when they were in possibly the most danger that they had been all of their lives.

"You go ahead, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, touching him on the arm to reassure him. "Kiba-kun and Shino-kun and I can keep the camp safe by ourselves, and Jiraiya-sama isn't so useless, either."

"Hinata," Naruto asked, a wide smile on his face, "Did you just crack a joke at Ero-Sennin?"

Hinata's only response was to turn slightly red and nod quietly, which made Kiba chuckle and everybody—minus Sasuke—grin. She was even starting to share his sense of humor, now...

"Not bad," admitted Naruto. "It would have been better if you hadn't called him 'Jiraiya-sama,' but it was a good start. Okay, I trust you to guard my stuff with your life! Be back soon!"

OoOoOoOoO

It was more difficult to navigate to the valley's border in darkness, but Neji did not mind it so much. It was far more pleasant without Uchiha Sasuke guiding him, anyway. Besides, there was a purpose in coming here, and a very important one at that. He needed to talk to Naruto and Sakura away from the others, and to have them understand exactly what it was that they were facing.

They reached the Grave while there was still some light left in the sky, which was good, for neither Naruto nor Sakura had the eyes that Neji did, and they needed to be able to see in order to absorb all of what this symbolized. As they peered out into the sunken waste, taking in the emptiness and barrenness of the place and the deadness of the night air that hung over it, Neji knew that he had timed this trip perfectly. His comrades' awed reactions attested to that.

"Crazy big," was Naruto's first comment.

"And not friendly-looking," Sakura added. "Neji-san, is this...?"

"Yes," Neji confirmed. "This place is our destination: the Grave."

"Wow," Naruto said. "So that's the place where Keisuke-niichan grew up. It doesn't look much like a nurturing environment anymore, does it?"

"No, it doesn't," Neji agreed. "But we will have to survive in it, starting tomorrow. We do not know how long we will be down there, so we will have to be sure to ration our supplies and..."

"Oh, so that's why you called us out here?" Naruto said, sounding somewhat relieved. "Phew! I totally thought you were going to tongue-thrash me about Hinata and last night. Don't worry, Neji, I can keep myself from eating everything in a single day. You don't have to ask Sakura to beat me if I don't!"

Neji, though he suddenly understood why Naruto had been afraid to leave the safety of Hinata's side, shook his head. "This is not about your tendency to over-eat or your nocturnal behaviors, Naruto, though I can refresh your memory about my stand on that at a later time. I brought you here to ask you and Sakura-san some questions."

"Questions?" wondered Sakura aloud. "What kind of questions do you mean, Neji-san?"

Neji inhaled a deep breath. This was the point of no return, the shatterpoint in the stability of the team. If anything was going to go wrong, it would have to go wrong now, or else they might be in serious trouble.

"Naruto," he began, "I know that it is not my place to ask this, but as your team leader, I feel it is necessary to preserve our mission capability."

"Ask away," Naruto said. "If it's anything about the mission, there's nothing I can't handle."

"Then I will," Neji said. "Naruto, from the time we started this journey until very recently, you have been exhibiting behaviors that are very unlike you, and which could potentially complicate the mission if they were to continue. That is not to say that I do not trust you," he amended hastily as Naruto took a defensive posture, "But if it is what I think it is, I need to know _before_ it has a chance to cause problems for us. Has the Caged Bird Seal been causing you problems?"

Naruto seemed taken aback at this. His eyes were wide and his mouth slack as he took in the weight of the question. Neji fixed him with his perceptive eyes, trying to read him. He did not perceive that Naruto was about to lie to him, but something told him that the question had raised uncertainties within the blond himself.

"Well, I can tell you that it still itches a lot," he said finally, rubbing the skin beneath his hitai-ate, "But not as much as it used to. Other than that, it hasn't affected me in any bad way that I can think of."

Neji accepted that answer, moving on to the next question. "And the demon fox inside of you, the Kyuubi. Has he been making trouble?"

Naruto's pause was shorter this time. "Yeah," he said, his eyes falling to the ground. "He's been coming to me in my dreams. Back in Konoha... before the war started, I mean... he never used to talk to me, except before or after I'd needed to use his power. But now he's... well..."

"He's giving you nightmares," Sakura said quietly. "That's why you've been sleeping so badly. That's why you were afraid to go to sleep after we lost Haruka; you were afraid that Kyuubi would use that against you."

The trio were quiet a long moment after that as the truth sank in. Neji had not been certain, as he had been asleep during most of those incidents, but he had thought that if it wasn't the Caged Bird seal that was affecting him, it would be something to do with Kyuubi. Now he knew that he was right, he felt incredibly sorry that he had not known.

"How did you know, Sakura?" Naruto asked. "How did you figure out I wasn't sleeping?"

Sakura sighed. "I'm a medical ninja, Naruto," she said. "It's my job to notice these things. You were showing all the symptoms of restlessness and insomnia; it was as plain as day to me. And aside from that, you're my friend! Did you think I wouldn't worry about you and try to figure out what was wrong with you?"

Naruto found himself remembering the early days of Team Seven, when life had been the best that it could be. Back then, under Kakashi, the two of them and Sasuke had been as close friends as any of them had ever had, despite their constant claim that the relationships between them were vastly different. They might have outed Sasuke now, and Kakashi wasn't there at the moment, but the bonds from those days still stood strong. Of course Sakura would worry about him! How could he have forgotten that?

"Gomen, Sakura-chan," he said. "I shouldn't have doubted you. Why didn't you say anything about it?"

"Because you weren't saying anything," Sakura replied. "If you didn't want anyone to know, you must have had a good reason for keeping it secret. I chose to respect your wishes, Naruto. That's what friends do."

"I'll have to interrupt you, Sakura-san," Neji said. "But I need to know just how serious this is, and if there is anything that we can do about it. First, I need to know how Naruto made this sudden recovery."

"Come to think of it, I was wondering about that, too," Sakura said. "Naruto, you seemed to get some decent sleep last night... care to tell us how you managed it?"

To the surprise of both Neji and Sakura, Naruto blushed. It was only a slight coloring, but it was definitely noticeable. Naruto was embarrassed about this, and hesitant to say anything.

"Oh, no way," Sakura said, not believing. "You don't mean that letting Hinata use you as a pillow made the difference!"

"Ehehe," Naruto said, his color deepening. "Well, it _was_ really comfortable..."

"You pig," Sakura said, trying to sound disgusted. However, the happiness for her two friends overruled her desires, and she ended up sounding more pleased about the revelation than she intended. The frown that she had wanted to make came out as a smirk.

"All right," Neji said, "So Naruto..." he cleared his throat noisily, "Sleeping next to Hinata-sama seems to ease his rest. This is not entirely nonsensical, since having a trusted friend nearby can have positive psychological benefits even when one is unconscious. That solves that problem. Is there anything else that you can think of that could be afflicting you, Naruto?"

Naruto's blush faded, and he took on a more serious expression, shaking his head. "Nothing I know about, Neji."

"Good," Neji said. "Now then, Sakura-san..."

"Hai!"

"We all know that there is a high probability that we will encounter Orochimaru once our mission begins. We will try to avoid it if at all possible, but there is no guarantee that we can. I want to know if you will be all right with this."

He did not elaborate further, but Sakura knew what he was referring to. Orochimaru had been the source of much terrible pain for her, from the moment they had first known each other. She had been reduced to tears the moment she had first looked into his eyes, and he had gone so far as to take one of her most precious loved ones from her.

Sakura, however, remembered the triumph back in Konoha, the proof that Naruto had given her that not everything about Orochimaru was infallible. His plans, his products—there were weaknesses in them where there was a will to look.

"I can do this, Neji-san," she said. "That was clear the moment I agreed to go with you on this mission."

Neji smiled. "All right. I'm going to put my faith in both of you. When we return to the camp, I want you both to make sure that all of the equipment is ready. Tomorrow, we will go into the Grave and start our first reconnaissance operation."

"Okay!"

"Hai, Neji-san!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Did you know that I had to get knocked out and hauled away bodily not once, but _twice_ before I finally ended up here? You're damned lucky I'm no porcelain maiden, or else you'd have porcelain shards sticking out of your skin."

So far, Keisuke's reunion with Haruka wasn't going at all like he had planned. He had hoped that they could dispense with the useless name-calling and antagonism for once, but it seemed that Haruka was simply in too bad a mood to do that. Keisuke was, of course, happy to be speaking to her at all; she was a familiar source of grief, and much less deeply wounding than Orochimaru. Still, he wished that she could have acted just a little bit happy to see him.

He lay with his head in her lap, letting her cut his hair with a sharp piece of stone that she had found. She had insisted that she let him do it, claiming that the clump was too long, smelly, and filthy for her to stand. He had to agree with her on that point, considering the way it had been treated. So it was that he rested against her thighs, letting her hack away at his mane while showering him with angry stories of her journey here and stinging explanations of how it was all his fault.

"Don't you think I've had enough holes put in me already?" he asked. "My whole body aches, I have incisions that are badly stitched up, haven't been sanitized, and are probably already infected..."

"You're not the only one who's infected," Haruka spat, tossing another filthy clump of hair aside. "I could have left you for dead after Konoha was attacked. I had an excuse to do it, too; the clan needed a new head for its Elite Guard, and I was the one they wanted for the job. But noooo, I had a damned _partner_, who I had a _responsibility_ to go and save from this hell hole. You think you've got infections? You've infected my whole damned _life_."

"Well, excuse me for being such a parasite," he growled. "If I'm such a bother to you, I won't stop you from leaving. I'll just stay here, dreaming sweet dreams of the worst times of my life, until I go insane, shall I?"

Haruka did not answer. He could feel heat coming off of her in waves, though; she was likely mounting a snapping comeback. So she was going to keep up the bitch act, was she? Well, Keisuke could play that game, too.

"It was really nice, meeting my dead wife again," he went on, dripping sarcasm from every word. "And I was absolutely _thrilled _ to be able to watch myself kill my father all over. Did you know that it was my own mother who buried me under the earth? No, I never told you that part, did I? Not that you would have remembered, O mighty heartless heroine, because you probably would have been too busy parading around with the hundred-and-somethingth generation of my descendants to care..."

The sharp stone that Haruka had been using on his hair fell to the floor, making a quiet clatter. The heat that he felt coming off of her increased, and he could feel her legs trembling underneath his head. _Shaking with rage,_ Keisuke thought sadly. _Two years of partnership, and that's still all there's ever been between us. Meaningless jokes and anger..._

Then Keisuke felt something else. A drop of fluid landed on his nose. Involuntarily, his tongue lapped out and tasted it. It was slightly salty. Suddenly, he found himself rethinking the source of the trembling.

"Haruka?" he asked, his voice low and soft in concern.

In response, he heard a loud sniffle and quick, gasping breaths. They were accompanied by a spasm that jerked Haruka's whole body forward and back. This was definitely not what he had expected to get from his sarcastic tirade.

"Haruka?" he asked again, painfully lifting himself out of her lap and sitting up against the stone walls of the cell. "What's going on? I can't see..."

The mood of the scene changed so quickly that Keisuke barely had time to register what it was that had happened. One moment he had been trading angsty, angry comments with Haruka, and the next... He would admit to having wanted a less angry reunion with his partner, but this was not the manner in which he had wanted to accomplish that change of mood. Yet, he could not for the life of him think of any way to deal with this.

Haruka had apparently not been shaking in rage or preparing a nasty retaliation; she had merely had too many emotions and stresses building in her for far too long, and these had finally exploded. She had collapsed against him, bloody stitches and all, and begun crying heavily into his chest. Keisuke heard the anguish in her loud cries, felt her body spasm atop his with terrible wracking sobs. She was pouring out all of her pain and stress onto him.

It hurt him in more ways than one to experience this. The initial impact her body had made against him had nearly knocked the breath out of him, as well as sent fiery agony through his injuries, and each soul-wrenching, spasming sob repeated that pain. The salt from her tears seeped into his cuts and abrasions and stung him terribly. All this was terribly bothersome, and this not even accounting for the fact that witnessing such a proud, strong creature break down and cry made his insides crawl.

Strangely enough—or perhaps expectedly—Keisuke made no attempt to dissuade her, but bore the pain stoically, letting her release herself on him. His hand, though several cuts had been reopened now, raised itself from the floor and found its way to Haruka's back, caressing it gently in an effort to soothe her.

This calmed her down a little, and though she continued crying and leaned even more heavily against him, pressing painfully into him, the spasming sobs stopped. After a moment, she found her voice.

"Damn it, Keisuke," she said. "I was so damned worried about you..."

"Ssshhh," Keisuke replied gently. "I'm alive. You got here with time to spare. You don't have to worry anymore."

"That's what I kept telling myself, all the time I was looking," Haruka said, sniffling. "But all the time, I kept seeing these... these _visions..._ You hanging in chains, all cut up, with your intestines dragging on the floor. I kept thinking that you were suffering, dying, and that there wasn't a damned thing I could do to stop it..."

"It's all right," Keisuke assured her, still stroking her back. He was amazed at how hot she felt beneath his fingers, how palpably emotional and vulnerable she was.

"And then Hiroto brought me here, and I saw you through the glass. I saw you with all those cuts and scars and screaming at those dreams you were having, and I thought I'd already lost you. Damn it, I was so afraid, then. Me, afraid! Afraid of having let you die! And now you're here, alive..."

"Yes, that's right," Keisuke agreed. "Alive. Was always alive. Will be alive a lot longer, now you're here."

Haruka wrapped her arms around his torso so tightly that he thought his intestines really _would_ be squeezed out of his body. Fortunately, they were not, and the only problem he had was the interesting combination of pain in his wounds and the oddly comforting feeling of Haruka's chest mashed against him.

"I'm sorry I was so damned cold to you before," she finished. "But, dear God, I was so happy that you were alive. I'm so goddamned happy you're alive, Keisuke!"

"I'm happy to have you, too, Haruka," Keisuke replied. His cracking rib cage said otherwise, but he kept that to himself. "Everything will be okay now, all right?"

At last, she let go of him. She was still sniffling, but the worst of the explosion seemed to have passed. She was much quieter now.

"No," she said sadly. "It won't. I learned some things from that bastard, Hiroto, while I was here. He's the one who brought you to Orochimaru, and now he's hired out ninja from Kumogakure to get Naruto for him."

"No way," Keisuke said, bewildered. "I can understand why Orochimaru would want Naruto, since he failed to get anything out of me, but how the hell could Hiroto—a Hyuuga—go to the Cloud for help without getting skewered and dissected?"

"By giving the Cloud another Hyuuga in place of himself," Haruka said. "That's why the ninja he hired are after Hinata-chan, too. Hiroto's going to be allowed to live safely in the Country of Lightning because of that."

Keisuke sat against the wall with his jaw slack. He was too awed to speak.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Haruka said, and Keisuke could imagine a grim smile. "The Hyuuga who is the biggest slimeball to walk the earth is going to be the safest, most comfortable Hyuuga who ever lived. And he'll have power, too; he says Orochimaru's going to teach him some jutsu once he has Naruto... says it'll make him a god among men..."

The blind man vaguely remembered the conversation that Orochimaru had been having with his associates shortly after Keisuke had woken up. "You know, I think I might have heard that somewhere, too."

They were quiet for some time, soaking up the reality of their situation. Keisuke almost felt like laughing, if only at the irony—at least that would freshen the air a little bit. Instead, he imagined Orochimaru, the most sinister voice he had ever heard, on his way to becoming the only voice the world would ever hear again. And in the undertone, the betraying Hyuuga—Keisuke's own descendant—laughing maniacally at their helplessness.

_Damn it!_ Keisuke thought. _It's my son all over again! _

"You're sure Hiroto wasn't just bluffing?" he asked weakly. "He didn't really hire Cloud shinobi, did he?"

"He did," Haruka said. "I saw them. They're strong, and they won't give up the chase until they've won or been killed."

"Is that so...?" Keisuke sighed. "Call me insane, blind, and stupid, but I can't just wait around while this just happens around me. We have to get out of here, Haruka, and find Naruto and Hinata before the worst happens."

"You are insane, blind, and stupid," Haruka said. "There's no way we can get out of here. Even if there was, you would die the moment you tried to haul yourself out of this hole. This damned barren crater we're in is three times the size of Konoha."

"Barren crater?" Keisuke asked incredulously. "You can't mean..."

"You should know better than anyone else, Keisuke of the Grave," said the Hyuuga woman. "Welcome home. You and I will probably die together here."

At those words, Keisuke had had enough. He didn't want to be angry, but this sense of hopelessness just made him sick. In spite of his body screaming at him, he got as forcefully as he could to his feet.

"Keisuke!" Haruka gasped, rushing forward. "Sit back down, you idiot! Do you want to die that badly? You can't leave me like..."

"That's just it, damn it!" Keisuke raged. "I am _not_ going to let myself die here, and neither are you. Where's the Haruka who challenged her fate until she was beaten into unconsciousness? Where's the Haruka who saved my children from the Rock and the Sound? Where is the Haruka who would fight beside me to the death? I want that Haruka! Hell, I _loved_ that Haruka! ARGH!!"

He had to stop his rant and clasp his head in both hands. The burning, itching pain that he had found in his upper face was now a blaze of agony. Haruka grabbed him from behind, squeezing him and trying to calm him down.

"Damn this rag!" Keisuke said, feeling the bandage that covered the burning wound. "It's wrapped too tight..."

Haruka suddenly grew stiff and cold around him. "Keisuke, you really shouldn't do that," she said. "That... that isn't healed yet..."

"And neither are the rest of my twenty thousand injuries," the blind man growled. "It's not like this will make any difference."

"But, Keisuke..." Haruka began, her voice growing persistent and... frightened?

He wondered about it as he pulled the bandage off, but his wonder was soon dispelled, along with his anger. _What is this? _He thought. Keisuke was receiving sensory input to his brain that was vaguely familiar, but which he knew he shouldn't have been receiving. It was faint, as though it were muffled by something other than the bandage that had covered it, but it was definitely there. As he realized where he remembered the input format from, he was immediately thrown into a fit of mixed excitement and fear.

This type of sensory input was the type he only ever received when he was Synchronized with another person.

"Keisuke?" Haruka asked, sharing his fear. "Keisuke, does it... do they work?"

Following a deep inhalation, the reply that she got was, "There is one way to find out."

For the first time in his unnaturally extended, demon-spawned life, Haka no Keisuke opened his own eyes.

The trickle of sensory input—the dim perception of light that had filtered through his eyelids—became a flood of light, color, depth, and shapes. This was not anything like what he had experienced through Synchronization; it was _his _sight, centralized in _his _body, and it assaulted his mind like a sledgehammer, simultaneously delighting and startling him.

"Aaaahhh!" he cried. "They burn! It's too much, too much!"

"I told you not to do that!" he heard Haruka say. "They only just put those in you. Your body isn't used to them yet, and they're probably dry, so exposing them to the air was bound to hurt..."

Keisuke barely heard her; he was too busy staring at everything around him, testing the organs of sight which he had never possessed, but were now his at last. He seemed to be drunk on light and color. Haruka was barely a whisper compared to the visual cacophony that surrounded him...

Haruka.

An idea struck him that made him even more terrified and excited than he had been when he had first felt his eyes. Haruka was right behind him—if he turned around, he could _see_ her. See her! He had only seen her through her own eyes, before, and he had seen only her clothes, her arms and legs... he had never seen her face. But now he had his own eyes, and he could see her in her entirety!

Haruka seemed to sense that he had gotten this idea. "W-wait..." she said, stuttering for the first time in history. "Don't turn around. No, don't!"

Too late. Keisuke's body swiveled around, bringing his gaze to bear on her, and she froze like a deer in headlights. He saw her.

When he saw her, he saw shredded, dirty clothing, much like the ragged pants that he wore, the braid of her hair frayed and hanging limply over her shoulder, and bruises; Hiroto had not been gentle with her. Her silver eyes were bloodshot and moist from their recent release of tears. She looked vulnerable, weak, in stark contrast to the Haruka he had been shouting for only moments ago.

"Is this why you didn't want me to take it off?" he asked. "You didn't want me to see you for the first time, and see you in your hour of weakness?"

Haruka declined to respond verbally. However, she seemed to shrink away from him as if in shame; her eyes averted themselves to the floor, and her arms folded around her, forming a shell against his searching gaze. Yes, she was weak at the moment. Yes, right now she didn't have much hope of escape or retribution.

To Keisuke, however, she was as lovely as ever. He stepped forward and caught hold of her, folding her up in his arms. Surprised, she looked up into his eyes, absent-mindedly noting that the pupils were the same blue color as the sky.

"I'm not blind," he said. "Long before today, I could see the strength in you. I know it's still there, and that you'll find it again in good time. You have your flaws, but there's no one else that I would rather fight through this hell with. You hear me, partner?"

They stood embracing a long time, looking at each other. Finally, she closed her eyes and leaned against him again, surrendering to his embrace.

"You all better now?" Keisuke asked.

She shook her head. Keisuke stepped away.

"What's wro..."

Haruka's sudden attack on his mouth choked off his inquiry. Keisuke was too busy contending with her lips sealed onto his face and her tongue invading the inside of his head to finish it. After a moment, he no longer wanted finish it. He closed his eyes and reciprocated the kiss, carrying it on for a ten seconds that seemed to span ten glorious, wonderful millennia.

"_Now_ I'm all better," Haruka said, once they had pulled apart.

Keisuke had a lot of things he had planned to think about that day, not the least of which was the reason why Orochimaru, who was so evil a person as to be feared across the shinobi map, would give him the gift of eyes. However, he knew that these thoughts would have to wait. He would be unable to think about anything, with the possible exception of the last ten seconds, for a good long time.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Man," Kiba groaned. "When are those guys coming back? I'm getting bored just sitting around here; I want to see what Naruto's going to do to Hinata tonight!"

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata started, spitting out a mouthful of water. "Please, don't joke about that..."

"Aww, you know I don't mean to tease you, Hinata. I'm just looking out for your well-being, that's all." Kiba's smirk told otherwise, but since he didn't say any more, Hinata decided it was best not to say anything for herself, lest she provoke more lewd commentary. Taking another drink, more carefully this time, she did her best to shake it off.

"Despite his childlike mischief, Kiba does have a point," Shino said. "Without Naruto, there has been a considerable lack of activity around here."

"Oh, could it be?" Kiba asked, faking awe. "Is the all-knowing, impervious, stoic Shino actually _bored?_"

"I do not appreciate your crude attempt at demeaning humor," Shino said, showing no more emotion than normal. "My point is that in the absence of our comrades, some tasks have been left unfinished. I think we should be doing the right thing for the team and finish them ourselves."

"I understand," Hinata said, rising to her feet. "You're right, Shino-kun. I'll take up where Sakura-chan left off."

Shino nodded, then selected his own task. "I will douse and conceal the fire. Kiba, where is Jiraiya-sama?"

"I saw him head off into the brush with Sasuke. Probably just taking a whiz," Kiba replied, jerking his head to one end of the camp.

"All right," Shino said, nodding. "Then I want you to..."

"Gwaaah!"

The yell of surprise and pain came from the direction Kiba had indicated. Shino and Hinata both stood up and turned towards it, making ready for a fight. Had the Cloud picked this moment to attack? If they were, it made sense to neutralize Jiraiya first, but then how could they approach one of the legendary Sannin undetected? Something was amiss—something big.

However, the only thing that stumbled out of the brush was Jiraiya himself. His pants were up, thankfully, but he was wobbly and looked pale. Possibly poison? But how would a Sannin be vulnerable to poison while taking care of his business in the brush? And if Jiraiya was not yet dead, why did the enemy not press the attack? Shino wondered heavily about that, until he noticed one critical difference between how Jiriaya had left and how he had come back.

Sasuke was no longer with the Gama-Sennin. But how would the traitor, who had been watched and warded day and night, get his hands on poison? The Aburame bug user examined Jiraiya further, and his kikai bugs reported that there was some kind of residue on him. It was invisible to human eyes, but clear to the insects, and—very interestingly—the bugs did not want to go near it.

"This is..." Shino said.

"Jiraiya-sama!" Hinata called out, coming forward to assist the big man. "Are you all right?"

"Bushes," Jiriaya gasped. "The flowers... purple... gassed me... a trap!"

_Purple flowers,_ Shino thought. _Flowers that release a gas that is poisonous to both humans and insects. I see. So she planted those in the most concealed area near our camp, knowing that someone would want to use the are for that purpose, and then fled before her presence was noticed. None of us except possibly Hinata would be knowledgeable enough to remember the variety of plant and realize that it did not belong in this environment. Very clever. Once they realize that it was Jiraiya-sama who fell for the trap..._

"Hinata, Kiba!" he yelled. "Get Jiraiya-sama into a tent, quickly, and then arm yourselves. We are about to come under attack."

"On the contrary," called a voice that carried on the breeze, "You are under attack already."

Bright lights suddenly lit the darkness, emanating from strange luminous plants that had made their home in nearby trees. The form of a tall, seraphic man in a blue robe was suddenly illuminated on one of the high branches. The air around immediately around him seemed to move with him as he leaped to the ground in front of Hinata and Jiraiya, and he made no impact or impression against the ground as he landed.

Wisely, Hinata leaped away from him. However, she was intercepted from behind by Hikaru, who appeared seemingly from nowhere, the lighting plants having covered his approach in spite of the darkness of night. "You're not going anywhere, you Hyuuga bitch," he said, grinning with evil triumph.

"Hinata!" Kiba yelled, and went to help his teammate. Akamaru barked loudly as he followed at his master's heels. Hikaru moved away, but Hinata was not helpless; a quick jab into a tenketsu in his arm to weaken his grip and some graceful footwork, and she was free, joining Kiba and Akamaru and facing their overconfident opponent.

Shino attempted to join his two teammates as well. They had always worked well together in the past, and together they stood a much better chance of winning than they did apart. Jiraiya, despite being somewhat disabled, was still on his own feet, and therefore still combat capable. He was competent on the battlefield, and would probably last longer than the three of them together even if he was poisoned. Hinata and Kiba were the ones who needed him most right now.

However, his path was instantly blocked by a monstrous growth of bamboo-like shoots that formed an instant wooden barricade. Behind him, he felt the source of the roadblock manifest itself. He turned around to see Ayaka in her dark cloak, this time with her hood removed. Strands of her oaken hair fluttered in the evening breeze, and her green eyes fixed Shino with a look of vengeful purpose.

"You will fight me and me only, Aburame Shino," she said. Underneath his coat and dark sunglasses, Shino felt himself begin sweating; he knew that she had cornered him, and now his friends would have to fight without him.

The old Team Eight and a weakened Jiraiya, having lost Sasuke and been separated from their other comrades, would have to hold the camp while fighting at a serious disadvantage. If Shino would ever pray for his life and the lives of his comrades, the fear concealed in his cool head was as close to that prayer as he had ever come.

OoOoOoOo Super Cliffhanger no Jutsu! End Chapter Twelve oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter:** I'd say something, but then I'd probably be spoiling it...


	15. C13: Contest of Lost Honor

**A/N:** Dim the lights, put on some rockin' music, and prepare yourselves. Things are going to get ugly, here.

**Chapter Thirteen: Contest of Lost Honor**

In mere seconds, the camp had become a battleground upon which not one but three struggles would be fought. Near the tents, the world-renowned Toad Hermit, Jiraiya of the Legendary Three struggled to stand in the way of the mighty wind shinobi Kouhei while fending off the effects of a nerve gas on his system. Across the camp from him, Hinata and Kiba stood united against the arrogant young Kumo Ninja. Apart from them by only several meters, a bamboo cage had erected itself. Within the cage, Shino fought the plant user, Ayaka.

Kouhei, a professional and practical shinobi, wasted no time in attacking. Only the weakened Jiraiya stood in his way now; once he had been disposed of, their Hyuuga target would be easily taken by Kouhei and Hikaru's combined strength. The wind user was almost smiling as he came forward at full speed, jabbing at the Toad Hermit with one gleaming dagger. He resolved to savor this rematch and his impending victory, however short it might be. The two combatants locked eyes as the stab met a two-handed parry.

"I did not appreciate the injury that you dealt me last time," Kouhei said as he spun loose and brought his other sai to bear. This time, Jiraiya found the strength to leap backwards a few meters. "I look forward to repaying you in kind."

_I hate to admit it, _Jiraiya thought, _but at this rate, he just might be able to. _"That poison," he asked through slightly raspy vocal chords, "What was in it?"

"Another of those ingenious plants bred by Ayaka's family," Kouhei responded. His hands were in motion as he spoke, and Jiraiya recognized a Fuuton pattern in the making. "It is a variety that grows very excellent fruit, though the flowers release toxins in the early growth stages when touched to prevent its premature consumption. The gas that you have encountered is a highly effective pesticide, as well as a powerful nerve disruptor in humans. You will find movement and the molding of chakra to be quite difficult."

He finished his seals and let loose. Jiraiya tensed, awaiting the attack with arms raised defensively before him.

"**Futon: Fushishidan!" **(Wind Style: Wind Lion Bullet)

The Fushishidan technique was suppression jutsu; it involved condensing a massive amount of air under pressure and using it to force the opponent to the ground, holding him in place with its sheer force, possibly crushing a weaker opponent, until an attack could be made to finish the enemy off. An opponent experiencing this technique is often made to feel as if he or she is wrestling with a large cat that has leaped on top of them. Because it was wind-based, it was very fast and hard to evade unless one could move faster than a hurricane.

At the moment, Jiraiya did not feel up to moving faster than an old lady crossing the street. No matter how hard he willed his muscles to move, the signals between brain and body were confused. Even breathing was difficult!

The wave of air roared forth with a terrible sound that pierced the night. Its target remained where he was, apparently unable to dodge. Kouhei grinned angelically in triumph as the blast connected, pinning the great Gama-Sennin's body to the ground and holding him there relentlessly. Swiftly, he brought forth his daggers to cleanly decapitate the prone enemy, clearing the way to the true target.

As the blades bit into a lump of shrubbery, however, the sense of triumph faded. It was replaced by a sense of mild alarm that stemmed from two sources. The first source was Jiraiya's apparent ability to perform Kawarimi no jutsu in his weakened state. The second source was the sudden stickiness of the ground that he stood on. Turning his head, he saw the mighty Sannin applying more chakra to his Doton jutsu.

"**Doton," **he said, grinning cockily, **"Yomi Numa!"** (Earth Style: Hell Swamp)

The ground beneath Kouhei's feet was suddenly more than a little sticky; it was muck. Not only that, but it was getting muckier as Jiraiya slowly added more power to it. The wind master was sinking slowly into the valley floor, which had become a miniature quicksand hole.

"So it seems that you are not as weakened as I had thought," Kouhei acknowledged.

"What do you mean?" Gama-Sennin intoned. "Of course, I recognized the danger the moment it started. I got a good dosage, but still managed to walk away. That, and the team bug user was more resourceful than you thought."

Kouhei, simply staring emotionlessly as he slowly sank, did not seem terribly concerned. "Is that so? Do tell me how."

"Shino's bugs encountered that gas before," Jiraiya explained, grunting under the struggle between his chakra and the poison. "Most of the affected died, but a few made it back alive. Those that did were lucky enough to be cleaned of poison by the rest of the hive. That's how Shino discovered the nature of the poison and that it could be removed from outside, by cleaning off the residue. He was kind enough to leave a small amount of bugs under the safety of our clothes just in case this happened."

Kouhei was nonchalant about this revelation, and simply flowed into the next phase of battle. He began forming another set of chakra-molding seals. "I see," he said. "So you are slowly recovering. But I can see that you are still struggling; your jutsu is weak, and I can see that you must concentrate heavily to maintain it. If I offer moderate resistance, you should falter eventually."

Jiraiya grit his teeth. He knew that the enemy was completely right about this; the bugs had emerged from their safe haven and were cleaning poison away from him, but there were few of them, and the work was slow. He would have to deal with his difficulty a while longer.

This suited him well enough, though. He only needed to hold Kouhei where he was, preventing him from doing any damage until Neji, Naruto, and Sakura returned. When that happened, the Cloud would be heavily outnumbered and forced to retreat in failure, just as they had previously. Gama-Sennin increased his concentration against the resistance that Kouhei was mounting, hoping that it would be enough. He closed his eyes as the wind master completed his seals.

"**Futon: Kamisori Kabe no Jutsu."**

Kouhei's jutsu was unimpaired by poison, and tore at the growing swamp like an auger. Immediately, he stopped sinking—he had been waist-deep by this time—and began rising up out of the ground at a slow but still disquieting rate. Jiraiya, nearly overwhelmed by the strength, was forced to redouble his efforts. The end result was a tentative stalemate, with the swamp holding the blue-robed seraph just above his knees, bobbing up and down and causing the wet ground to ripple.

Sweat stood out on Jiraiya's face as he strained to hold the enemy where he was. For now, it was working, but his chakra was rapidly draining due to the effort. Kouhei, meanwhile, simply watched him, countering the suction of the swamp with apparent ease, though seemingly unable to rise any further.

"You are indeed very strong, Jiraiya-sama of the Legendary Three," he said. "You have turned an unfavorable physical battle into a battle of wills. I am pleased to have fought you twice in this world. I will ensure that when you are dead, the story of your death will be one of high honor."

Though Jiraiya doubted that anyone would believe he had died honorably on the battlefield rather than at the hands of the vengeful Tsunade after a badly-timed trip to the bathhouse, he was beginning to have doubts about whether he would have a choice in the matter. He would fight to preserve his chance to improve his name, of course—the great Jiraiya's reputation could always stand improvement! He just hoped that he had enough comrades left alive at the end of this to recognize his greatness.

That, and Naruto wouldn't forgive him if Hinata was taken by these Cloud ninja.

_Hurry up, Naruto, _he pleaded silently. _I'll hold this one for you, but you're going to have to save your own princess. _

OoOoOoOoOoO

The "princess" and her guardians were currently staring down their impractical, less powerful opponent. Hinata had her Byakugan active and was standing ready between Kiba and Akamaru, facing her opponent and trying to see what was happening elsewhere on the battleground simultaneously. She quietly watched the brief scuffle between Jiraiya and Kouhei, sighing in relief when the Ero-Sennin appeared to get the upper hand. She could not see Shino and his opponent that well; they were by now completely enclosed in the bamboo wall trap. She could see, however, that both chakras were alive and pulsing strongly, which she interpreted positively. In the meantime, she kept her eyes peeled for any sign of reinforcements, and faced their opponent.

Kiba focused less on his surroundings and more on the battle at hand—or rather, the shouting match he was having between himself and the arrogant Hikaru.

"I get that you Cloud guys want Hinata for the Byakugan," he yelled angrily. "I heard all about that story with the incident on her third birthday. I know there's been a grudge between you because of that. But what the hell is _your_ problem with it, man? You can't be much older than us, so what bone do _you _have to pick with the Hyuuga?"

"Shut up!" Hikaru fired back, his sandy hair bristling with rage. "It's not the Hyuuga I have a problem with. That's for the old geezers back home to stew over; it's Hyuuga Hinata that I want! You don't know anything about me!"

"Not the Hyuuga, huh?" Kiba asked. "Then, what the hell do you want with Hinata?" Akamaru took one step forward, his paw kicking up the ashes of the fire, and growled loudly. There was no mistaking his anger at the white-clad youth.

"Yeah, as if you cared!" Hikaru spat. "Nobody cared, not after she did _that_ to me in the Chuunin Examination! I went from the rising star of the Village Hidden in the Clouds to a nonsense-spouting idiot in just one day! She had shamed me in front of everybody, ruining my life just like she ruined my father! My father—the one blessed with the most glory ever in the history of our village, who went to claim the Byakugan for us and ended up losing his life!"

Hinata and Kiba both stared at him. The Cloud leader that had tried to kidnap Hinata so many years ago, whom Hiashi had dispatched with a single blow, had had a son? This certainly was an inopportune time for him to attempt revenge!

"I'm going to make her pay for shaming my family," Hikaru growled darkly. He performed a series of seals while he spoke, all the while glaring at Hinata with murderous intent. "I don't care if the old men back home wanted her alive. I'll kill her myself, and display her head above my hearth! Stop me if you can, morons..." With a villainous smile, he vanished into the plant-lit night.

Kiba was instantly alert, using his full range of vision to try to spot some sign of the incoming attack. "This is it," he said between clenched teeth. "He'll hide in the light from those crazy plants, and attack us from a blind angle. Hinata, can you see him?"

Hinata strained her eyes, looking for their opponent. However, Hikaru's jutsu was much different from any other kind of concealment technique. Since the eyes worked by directly absorbing light, and Hikaru's jutsu worked by bending light to his will, he was truly invisible even to the Byakugan. The impeccable eyes which could pierce the deepest darkness and the thickest walls was confused by this technique, and looking for him in the brightest night of her life only resulted in her nearly being blinded by the blazing lights.

"No," Hinata said, a bit of fear creeping into her voice, "I can't!"

"Damned straight, you can't!" yelled Hikaru from her exposed left side, just before he became visible again, sailing toward her with a kunai aimed right at her heart. He was mere inches away from her—he was fast, too! Hinata desperately tried to raise her arms in front of the blow...

Only to find that blocking was unnecessary, thanks to Akamaru barreling straight into Hikaru and knocking him off-course. The dog continued to pursue his enemy, running after him with animal speed and swiping at him with a heavy paw. Hikaru managed to correct himself, however, and blocked the sharp claws with his knife. He rolled away from Akamaru winded, but unharmed, and the battle was back where it had begun.

"It looks like you spent a lot of time preparing to take out Hinata," Kiba said, "But you should have made sure that her teammates were out of the way, first. She and Shino and I are all enemy detection specialists; even if you can fool her eyes, you can't fool Shino's bugs, and you definitely can't fool a dog's nose!"

"What the...?" Hikaru started, his eyes as wide as saucers. "Not you, too! The bug bastard explained himself, but there's no way you could just smell me and react fast enough! You don't have that kind of speed!"

"Want to bet?" Kiba said, grinning ferally. "It was hard the first time, since we weren't exactly sure what you smelled like. But it'll be easier now. Your stealth is no good against us, you cocky asshole, and without it, we and Hinata are gonna tear you apart."

The look of surprise lingered on Hikaru's face a moment longer, but then it turned to fiery rage as he realized that Kiba was exactly right, and he was now at a disadvantage. He was visibly shaking with red fury as he drew eight kunai, gripping them with white knuckles.

"I'll kill you all before you get the chance!" he yelled. He flung all eight kunai in Hinata's direction, and though she easily deflected them with a momentary burst of lancing chakra, she was momentarily unable to do anything to impede his progress. Hikaru then turned and charged Kiba at a full-on sprint, flipping through hand seals with the speed of angry desperation.

"**Raiton: Kaminari Hibiki!" **(Lightning Style: Thunder Echo)

Simultaneously, Hikaru's body appeared to become enveloped by electricity and to pick up a tremendous amount of speed. He was an angry storm headed Kiba's way, an irresistible force with no immovable object in its path. As he picked up more speed, it seemed that he outdistanced the lightning, and a clone made entirely of electricity followed in his shadow.

Fortunately, Kiba needed no immovable object. He had has own speed.

"If it's a contest of speed, I won't lose. **Gijyuu Ninpou, Shikyaku no Jutsu!" **With a mere half-second to go before Hikaru's electrically charged hand impacted his face, Kiba's hands touched the ground, becoming his new forepaws. An instant later, he was gone, and the attack connected with unoccupied earth.

"Damn it!" Hikaru yelled, too late to correct his aim. The fist buried itself in the valley floor, and for an instant both Hinata and Kiba thought that anger and lack of concentration had caused the white-clad ninja's jutsu to fail. About a second later, however, they found out the true nature of the "Thunder Echo," as all the electricity following in his wake smashed into the ground after him. The ground, already loosened by the fist, blew apart completely, showering the combatants with soil. The effect rivaled that of a pair of Kakashi's Raikiris.

Kiba had escaped clean, however, and was now circling around behind Hikaru. The Cloud youth was trying to yank his still-partially-buried hand out of the ground when he and Akamaru approached from behind him. Dog and master each grabbed hold of a leg with their fanged jaws, inflicting pain and immobilizing the opponent all at once.

"Argh!" howled the victim. "Let go of me, you mangy beasts!"

"Nawt ahn yewr wrife," Kiba growled through a mouthful of leg. "Oo if now, 'Inafa!"

"What the heck are you saying?!" gasped Hikaru. "Let go of my damned leg, you... oh."

He didn't know the exact words Kiba had been saying, but it was obviously some kind of signal, because Hinata was now right in front of him. Not only that, she was in a very familiar stance, one that he remembered from a long time ago. One that he hated and feared with a passion.

"Oh, no way!" he said. "Not the hell again!"

"Yes, again," Hinata said, her eyes for once showing almost no pity for her enemy. He had, after all, called her names on several occasions and tried to kill her. Naruto was rubbing off on her in more ways than one; her sense of justice and will to stand up to herself were more easily expressed.

"**Jyuuken Hou: Hakke Rokujyuuyon Sho!"**

Memories of humiliating defeat surfaced in Hikaru's mind. Images of this very combo reducing him to an unconscious, useless wretch before his entire village. Mental pictures of his father laying in his grave, unseeing, silenced. All Hyuuga Hinata's fault. _I will not let her do it again! No way! Hell no!_

"HELL NO!!! **RAITON: KAMINARI BAKUHA!"**

Hinata was forced to abort her attack as she saw electrical currents rage to life and clash within her target's body, accumulating in an enormous unstable collection of electrical power. Eyes peeled wide open in alarm, she halted in mid-charge and leaped straight backwards. Desperately, she yelled for Kiba and Akamaru to flee from the coming attack. But they could not see the danger mounting inside Hikaru's body, and did not react quickly enough before the explosion went off.

Faster than anyone could blink, the ground on which Hikaru stood was engulfed in blinding white light as the immense electrical charge in his body finally released, sending a pillar of lightning searing towards the heavens. It lasted only an instant, but the huge flash and deafening boom of thunder that the blast created rendered Hinata temporarily blind and deaf.

When the shock wore off, she looked fearfully at the space where her friends and Hikaru had been. She hoped that she would not see what she thought she was going to see. A prayer flitted through her mind for Kiba and Akamaru, begging the spirits for their safety.

The Hyuuga girl stopped breathing when she saw her teammate and his dog lying several meters away from ground zero. It seemed that the blast had hurled them away without incinerating them, but they were badly burned and not moving; for a moment, Hinata thought they might be dead. She let her breath out when a closer inspection revealed that they were both still breathing, however. They'd been lucky.

Still, they were out of the fight, which left Hinata vulnerable. Hikaru was nowhere in sight, but she was certain that he had not been vaporized by his own attack. Most likely, he had used the cover of the blast to disappear into his stealth jutsu again, and was maneuvering for a new attack. Tension gripped Hinata's heart; this attack had almost killed her before Kiba had intervened. If she was careless, it could easily finish the job this time.

But how to counter it? Kiba was unconscious, Shino trapped, and Jiraiya occupied. Her Byakugan had already been proven ineffective in piercing this brand of stealth. She could not hope for Naruto to return right this instant to save her. She would have to think of a way to neutralize Hikaru's invisibility and defeat him on her own.

Her full-circle vision checked her surroundings for anything that she might be able to use, and found nothing but grass, a few trees, the team's tents, and the bamboo cage in which Shino fought. There was nothing that these things could do for her, except possibly...

_Shadows,_ Hinata thought. _If I can get into a shadow, I can lessen the effect of the invisibility jutsu. But where is a shadow that is large enough?_

Indeed, there were few sufficient shadows. The enemy had positioned their light-producing plants well, hanging them in the lower branches of every nearby tree. There was no shadow beneath these that she could use. The tents were an impossibility; Kouhei stood between her and them and, despite his ongoing struggle with the tiring Jiraiya, he might spare a moment to hit her with a fatal jutsu.

_That only leaves the bamboo stalks,_ she reasoned. These were a good twenty meters away, though, and this might be plenty of time for Hikaru to strike. How to get there without being struck from behind? _I have one idea,_ she thought, _but I've never used that technique while I wasn't stationary. Would it work? Do I have enough coordination? _

There was nothing for it but to try. Drawing and focusing chakra in her hands, Hinata created her twin lances of razor-sharp energy and began to swing them, using her body's natural flexibility to its fullest.

"**Kadou Shugo Hakke: Rokujyuuyon Sho!" **(Mobile Guardian of Eight Trigams: Sixty-Four Palms)

With her defense in place, Hinata turned and ran for the relative safety of the shadows. Moving at a full run, she was able to maintain an almost perfect sphere of protection around her while in constant motion. It seemed as though she would be able to make it to the bamboo wall safely. She would have sighed in relief if she'd had the time.

Hikaru wasn't about to just let her run off, however. Kunai with tags attached hit the ground everywhere around her, and she recognized the variety of the tags. She realized that Hikaru was trying to create a mine field around her, a guess that was proven right when the tags started firing off bolts of lightning across her path as she ran by.

The Shugo Hakke broke through them, and the bolts were deflected into the ground, hurling dirt and pebbles everywhere but leaving her untouched. Hope of victory surged in Hinata's pearly eyes, and she sped up in her new confidence.

Before she could blink, however, that confidence was blown away.

This reckless increase in speed turned out to be her undoing. The pebbles that littered the ground after the impact of several lightning bolts were tiny and just round enough to pose a hazard. Too late, she realized the danger of running carelessly across this field of stone marbles, and found herself tripping over them. Her well-coordinated defensive arm movements turned to wild windmilling in an effort to keep her balance. She felt panic take her as the effort failed, sending her falling right onto her face.

In an instant, Hikaru was straddling her back, holding her arms bound behind her with one hand and leveling a kunai at her throat with the other. His skin was burned and blistered from the immense blast that he had used on Kiba and Akamaru, but he did not seem at all bothered by that. In fact, he seemed positively ecstatic, and with good reason; he had his target at his mercy at last.

"Any last words, Hyuuga bitch?" he rasped, grinning crazily.

Hinata had no answer.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Within the bamboo enclosure, Shino stood face-to-face with the woman who claimed a vendetta on his entire clan. She still wore her heavy cloak filled with seeds and soil and vines, but she had not raised her hood. Triumph sparked in green eyes set in an otherwise expressionless face as she regarded him, knowing that her wish had at last been granted.

"At last, I have the mighty and honorable Aburame to myself, to battle without interruption," she said. "Are you fully prepared, Aburame Shino? I would fight you on even terms, and kill you in all good honor. In that fashion will my desire for retribution be satisfied."

Shino looked at her with confusion masked by sunglasses and a heavy jacket. Since their last meeting, he had carried this question in his mind. "Before," he said calmly, "I did not have an opportunity to inquire further about this vendetta you have against me. Before we fight, I will take this chance and ask you now. What is the nature of your animosity towards the Aburame clan?"

Ayaka fixed him even more intensely with her brilliant green gaze, and then did something that she had done for nobody else: she gave a slight smile. "I thought that you would ask," she said. "It is only fair that you know the reason for which I must kill you. Reveal your face, Aburame Shino, and I will tell you."

It might have been a trap or a trick of some kind, but somehow Shino knew that wasn't the case. Something in her eyes and her relaxed posture told him that he was in the wrong for suspecting her, and he felt inexplicably compelled to acquiesce. _It must be because I wish very much to know,_ he reasoned as he pulled the hood of his jacket back, then lowered the neck and removed his sunglasses. He now stood before Ayaka, face revealed to an enemy for the first time in his life. His brown hair, cut very short to prevent discomfort in his jacket, felt extremely light against the night breeze, and he forced himself not to squint his unshielded eyes as he looked his enemy in the face.

Ayaka looked at him bemusedly for a moment, then spoke again, androgynous voice low and husky in contrast to the yells and noises taking place outside. "Your face has not changed in these twelve years, Shino. I saw it only briefly on that day when we accompanied the Kumogakure ambassadors to Konoha, but I can remember it clearly."

_Twelve years ago, the Cloud emissary? _Shino asked his mind. _Ah, I remember. The day when that treaty was signed, the same day when Hinata turned three years old and Neji received his curse. _

"You were very kind to me, then," Ayaka continued, not seeming to notice his vacant look. "Representatives from my clan, the Ibara clan, and yours were very pleased about that. After the recent successful joint operation between the two that led to the rescue of an important Ibara head family member, they were eager to create a strong liaison agreement. The festivities of that day were as good a day as any to officially establish that agreement."

"A liaison agreement?" Shino asked. "I heard of no such diplomacy with any Ibara clan."

"Of course they would not have told you," said Ayaka, maintaining her half-smile. "It would not have been practical to weigh down the mind of the Aburame heir with such things as a voided engagement. No, it was best that he never knew of the union that was almost successfully arranged, and then abandoned in the tension that followed the Hyuuga incident."

"Union," Shino repeated after her, his face betraying a slight surprise. "An arrange political marriage? That would indeed have been impractical to speak of if it was no longer valid. But why was it abandoned?"

"For the same reason the peace treaty was almost abandoned," Ayaka responded. "The Kumogakure leader attempted to kidnap Hyuuga Hinata, and was killed. Tension flared between the two shinobi villages, which not even the Aburame and Ibara clans escaped. The Aburame seized me in the night and delivered me into the hands of their Konoha ANBU, who held me away from my parents and my clan until the conflict was resolved."

A momentary silence followed her statements, and her face turned to the ground momentarily. She seemed to be remembering the incident. "I was," she began, then paused as thought searching for the right words. "...Not treated well in my captivity," she finished. "When I returned to Kumogakure no Sato, I bore with me an intense dislike for the Aburame clan, whom I felt had betrayed me and my clan. I have desired to fight and kill you, in the best of honorable conditions, to gain my retribution and to prove that I am better than my betrayers."

Now Shino finally understood why this woman, Ibara Ayaka, wanted so badly to fight him. But what a tall tale it was! He could remember nothing of the events that she had just described, and though the explanation made perfect sense, he could not help but feel a little bit strange about it. When he returned home, he would ask his father about all of this.

"If all that you say is the truth," he said, "Then I extend my apologies to you. I assert that when my family turned you over to the ANBU, it was not their intent that you be treated ill. It will be investigated upon my return to Konoha."

Ayaka shook her head, oak-colored hair fluttering around her. "Ah, Aburame Shino, you are truly an honorable man." Her hands rustled out from under her cloak, forming into the seals of growth. "In defeating you fairly here tonight, I claim that honor as my own!"

Shino whipped around to find himself facing a wall of poison-dart flowers, all bristling with deadly needles ready to launch. As soon as he moved, the needles fired at him, filling the air with deadly organic rain. The bug user had only a short time to form the hand seals that would save his life.

"**Mushi Kabe no Jutsu!"**

The insects surged forth out from all parts of his body and clothing, swarming around him at the speed of a gale-force wind with Shino himself at the eye of the storm. The deadly barrage was deflected at just the right time.

Ayaka appeared to have been expecting a maneuver like this, however, and her cloak opened to reveal more of the purple flowers that she had hidden in the brush. They released the same gas that had afflicted Jiraiya into the swarm, intending to kill them all in one move. Shino was forced to recall his kikai bugs back to the safety of his body and maneuver away from the danger.

The gas dissipated quickly and the danger from it was removed, but Shino was now vulnerable to the poison-dart plants. He ran swiftly and in unpredictable patterns, releasing a small swarm to dispatch the plants so that he could fight Ayaka without danger. This was no enclosed space like the cave in which Naruto's bunshin had been killed, and Shino's freedom of movement gave him an advantage, but the darts could still kill him if he stayed in one place too long.

Ayaka seemed to realize this, too, and reached with her tangler vines to try and trip him up. The long, sinewy green appendages could reach a long way, as Shino discovered, but they, like the dart plants, were vulnerable against the hungry swarms that made their home in him. Each vine that came near him fell prey to the insects' counter-attack, and Shino remained unharmed while the dart plants were disabled one at a time.

Finally, the vines stopped coming, and Ayaka merely watched as her dart plants were destroyed. "Very well," she said when the last one had fallen. "I cannot successfully attack you from a distance, for your insects will simply eat through whatever I send towards you. You cannot use your insects to attack me from a great range, for my poison gas will kill any insect that strays near me. The only way either one of us can win is to attack at close range."

"That is not necessarily true," Shino said. He withdrew several shuriken from his leg holster and flung them directly at her, as well as to her sides, discouraging flight.

"I disagree," Ayaka countered. Her vines whipped out once more, whirling around her and catching each shuriken that came too near. There was, apparently, no way that a single man flinging projectiles would defeat her. "It must be a close fight, as you can so easily see. If you will not come to me, then I will go to you."

Shino ordered his bugs to flee; the gas that she had under her cloak was likely to come in to play very soon. They obeyed instantly, retreating beyond the range of the deadly purple flowers and their mistress. Hovering nearby in relative safety, they kept watch over the battlefield, ready to attack any plant that suddenly reared its deadly head.

Ayaka did not use the gas, however. Shino suspected that she feared the gas would affect her as much as him at close range, but kept his guard up nonetheless. If she did end up using it, he had to be prepared to flee at a moment's notice. In the meantime, he readied a kunai and prepared to meet her assault.

Drawing a kunai of her own, the plant user attacked Shino head-on. The bug user was surprised to discover that she was quite adept at close-quarters combat, despite his initial impression that she relied on her plants to do all her fighting for her. She moved with a dominating grace, flowing into each new thrust or parry and putting great strength into each impact in stark contrast to Shino's almost robotic taijutsu. Her eyes flashed with every clash of their knives.

Persperation ran down Shino's exposed face as the fight wore on. He had rarely had the need to do so much fighting on his own, without the aid of the bugs, and he was beginning to tire somewhat. Ayaka, however, seemed to have been honing her hand-to-hand skills just for such a situation; she had lured him into a disadvantageous position. Unfortunately, there was little he could do to help the situation physically.

_Psychologically, then?_ Shino asked himself.

"You have prepared very well for this encounter, I see," he told her as he parried a downward slash aimed at his head.

"Naturally," she responded. "I would not train myself lightly for such a crucial event." She twisted the blade away and came forward again with a straight thrust toward his sternum. Shino moved to one side, bringing his own blade to bear against Ayaka's neck. She moved easily to parry.

"Nor would I have, had I known such a battle would one day come," Shino said. "Under those circumstances, I might justifiably declare that this battle was not fought under the fairest of conditions. Having given me a certain period of time to prepare myself, you might have merited even greater honor in defeating me."

This comment took Ayaka by surprise and stalled her parry. Shino took advantage of her split-second hesitation, launching a kick that knocked her sailing several meters away from him. Wasting no time to thank the gods that the mental attack had worked, Shino pressed his luck, following after her to deal a finishing blow. It looked as though despite his inferior preparation, his resourcefulness had won the battle for him.

But then something happened that made him forget the battle.

In her short flight, Ayaka's cloak had fallen away, revealing the woman beneath. That woman was dressed in simple, black shinobi garb—very form-fitting shinobi garb. Ayaka's young teammate, Hikaru, had seemed to be very fond of her, and now Shino knew why. Never in his life had Shino so directly witnessed a form so voluptuous and lovely. It had curves and contours that the stoic bug user had never deigned to imagine existed, and proportions to match those of Hinata. Hinata, however, had never worn such tight-fitting clothes.

Staring at her, the normally all-business Aburame Shino paused, delaying his victory strike. In that pause, his advantage was lost to fatal human error.

Ayaka recovered quickly from her momentary weakness and capitalized on his mistake. Forming her specialized hand seals, she brought under command the plants in her cloak, which had fallen only a short distance from her. Purple flora bloomed, expelling its poison right at Shino, who realized his peril far too late. He fell gasping to the ground as the victorious Ayaka stood up, the triumphant look back in her eyes—this time mixed with a glint of anger.

"You may be right, Aburame Shino," she said. "It would have been a better victory if you had had more ample time to prepare yourself. However, it can no longer be helped. You are in my power, and I cannot miss this chance to destroy you. To gain some honor from this is better to gain none."

She stepped forward, raising her kunai in both hands, preparing the death blow. Shino, paralyzed by the full blast of gas, could do nothing to stop her, nor could his bugs come down to help him, lest they also be gassed to death. The seemingly unfeeling bug user had lost this battle to his humanity.

"I shall remember this moment always," Ayaka said when she reached him. "Farewell, Aburame Shi..."

A loud scream, one that dwarfed even the recent peal of thunder in volume, split the night. Both Ayaka and Shino had their attentions suddenly diverted. Shino had never heard a scream like that before; it sounded like a voice that was unaccustomed to screaming. Ayaka seemed to be having the same thoughts.

"That voice..." she said, lowering her kunai. "It couldn't be... could it? Aburame, I apologize, but I must leave you here for now. My teammates may be in danger. Your death can wait a while longer."

She seemed extremely worried as she turned and bolted, vaulting over the bamboo wall. Shino did not know what had happened, but as he called down his kikai bugs to begin cleaning him of poison, he thought he had an idea.

He shuddered; his idea was not at all a pleasant one.

OoOoOoOo Thundering Doom no Jutsu! End Chapter Thirteen oOoOoOoO

**Next chapter: **Things are not looking good for Team Eight and Jiraiya. All three battles have taken a turn for the worse for the Konoha shinobi. Yet, something seems to have disturbed Ayaka, indicating that something has gone wrong on their end as well. Is Shino's idea correct? If so, will it result in good or bad news for our protagonists?


	16. C14: The Enigma of Sasuke

**A/N: **Most of this I planned to include in Chapter Thirteen, but the fight scenes took up more space than planned. Not that it matters, right? I got an evil cliffhanger out there for you and you're still going to read this part anyway, so it's all good. At least, I think it's all good... (**hides from cliffhanger-haters with knives)**

**Chapter Fourteen: The Enigma of Sasuke**

Jiraiya had not expected to fight this hard merely to keep one opponent in place. Shino's bugs had been cleaning his body of the nerve-disrupting poison for the whole five or six minutes of the struggle, but they had not done it fast enough; while they had been working, he had been forced to expend a great deal of chakra that he would normally be able to save in keeping Kouhei trapped. Now, he was running completely out of steam.

He had never, ever expected to die by anyone's hand but Tsunade's, or maybe even Orochimaru's. This wind master, whom he had fought before and bested, was definitely not either of the other Sannin, and was not even on the same level. However, first with Jiraiya's weakness and now with his lack of chakra, Kouhei's level was more than enough to overpower him. The unexpected was becoming the reality.

The famed Gama-Sennin was willing to accept that fact. He had lived a decent life. Sure, it had been shorter than he had planned, and there was much more he wanted to do in life, but he felt it wouldn't be too bad to move to the next world at this point. After all, it was a lot better than the hell he was enduring right now. This green valley wasn't a bad place to die, either.

Despite his having come to terms with this unexpected turn of events, it would be some time before he believed the story of the events that transpired after he lost consciousness.

Out of chakra and out of breath, the mighty Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin collapsed to the ground, unseeing, unhearing, and unfeeling. His Yomi Numa jutsu lost its strength immediately, and Kouhei's intense whirlwind gained the upper hand, freeing the wind master from his imprisonment. Kouhei regarded his fallen enemy with a mixture of triumph and respect on his pale, seraphic face. He would remember this battle for as long as he lived.

Although, if he did not finish the operation quickly and remove himself from the combat zone, he might not live very long at all. The lights and the noise should have alerted the enemy to the battle by now, and the battle had stretched several long minutes already, longer than they had originally planned. If the Hyuuga jounin and his companions returned to the camp—and they ought to be soon—Kouhei doubted that he would have the strength to fend them off; Jiraiya's tenacity had surprised him, and he had ended up using a good two-thirds or more of his chakra. Even now, his body felt heavier than normal and his senses were blunted.

They were not blunted enough to prevent him from finishing the job, however. Stepping out of the tiny swamp that had held him, the blue-robed wind master looked across the camp to where his subordinates were fighting. Ayaka and her opponent were hidden beyond a bamboo wall, but he saw Hikaru perched atop the target in glorious victory, a kunai at the girl's throat. No doubt he was planning to kill the girl in spite of their orders—Kouhei would have to alter his thinking before the prize was damaged. Brushing himself off, he started towards Hikaru, intent on ending the operation before reinforcements could arrive.

Unfortunately for him, he had played with Jiraiya just a little bit too long. Without warning, something long and serpentine had crept up behind him and was now suddenly wrapped around his throat. Kouhei's hands went immediately to his throat, trying to dislodge the thing, but snapped instantly away again as they met with incredible heat. The thing that was choking him was burning!

How could this have happened? Who could have surprised him, he who had defeated Jiraiya of the Sannin? Who was skilled enough, sneaky enough, who sought his demise? Certainly not Uzumaki Naruto or Haruno Sakura; they were capable in the stealth department as any journeyman-level ninja, but Kouhei was an elite. Hyuuga Neji, then? It was possible, but Kouhei had never heard of a Hyuuga using such a technique...

The wind master turned around, looking for the source of the sudden attack, and came face-to-face with a young man. Apart from the flaming serpent that protruded from his open mouth, the young man had dark hair, pale skin, a tall, muscular frame, and red eyes, each one with three black tomoe marks surrounding the iris. Those eyes looked straight into Kouhei with clear contempt and an even clearer intent to kill. Kouhei realized that he was dealing with a natural born killer, one that neither the compassion nor the mercy that his companions did.

He fought, but could not win. Most of his energy had gone into the fight against Jiraiya, and though he strained at the fiery noose at his neck with his hands, the terrible red eyes stared into him, captivating him. In them, he saw himself suffering in the eternal flames of hell as red-eyed demons stood around him, burning with him and at the same time laughing at him. He wondered if this was some kind of genjutsu or merely the mental impression forced into his mind by the raw killing intent that the youth was pouring at him.

When Kouhei looked at Uchiha Sasuke, he saw his own death. The realization dawned on him as he was engulfed in the burning cold Sharingan, and he found himself doing what he had not done since he was old enough to hold a kunai: he screamed. It was a scream of many things; of denial, of anger, of disbelief, of pain, of surprise. The fact that he had not foreseen this made it even more difficult. After all, who would think that the infamous traitor from Konoha would actually come to save those who had imprisoned him?

The wind master, by a stroke of merciful fate, was not made to anguish long. The blazing noose gave one final squeeze, burning through the last of the flesh of his neck and snapping the vertebrae. Kouhei's head fell with a soft thud to the valley floor at Sasuke's feet. No blood came forth from either the head or the neck that it had been severed from, for the searing fire of the serpent had cauterized both loose ends, sealing them up into clean, smoking pieces with no mess at all. The body remained standing for several seconds, its blue robe fluttering slightly in the breeze. Then, with the same grace with which it had moved in life, it toppled over backward, clearing the way for Sasuke to move forward.

Towards Hikaru and Hinata.

The straw-haired Cloud nin looked pale as death. He wanted to disbelieve everything that he had just seen. _Nobody can just waltz in and kill Kouhei, _he rationalized. _Nobody can do that! _Yet the terrible reality of the Sharingan eyes and the murder that was visible in them swept away all his denial. Kouhei was dead, and he was about to be the next victim. He sat paralyzed on top of his forgotten target, and cowered in the face of death.

"Na... no... no way!" he yelled, struggling to push the words out through fear. "Wh-whaddaya want with us? Aren't you su-supposed to be _their_ enemy?"

Hinata was also watching, with much the same question in her mind. She remembered the power that the Uchiha traitor had fought her and Naruto with, mere weeks ago. Though the two of them had defeated Sasuke then, they had not inflicted any lasting damage, and now—as evidenced by his seemingly effortless defeat of the powerful Kouhei—he had recovered his strength. The Hyuuga girl's Byakugan withdrew as if in fear of its life, leaving the white eyes to stare helplessly at the slowly advancing Uchiha menace. Would he now take his revenge for the shame she had given him?

Sasuke surprised both captor and captive by saying, in a low, commanding voice layered with death, "Get off of her." He stopped walking just a few meters away from them, waiting for a response.

Hikaru was stunned, and Hinata looked at Sasuke as though he had just handed his old friend Naruto a heaping pile of ramen. He _wasn't _going to just kill all of them? What was going on?

"Huh?" was all that Hikaru managed to say.

Wrong answer. The Lightning nin suddenly found himself with a massive, bloody hole in his upper left arm. It happened in the blink of an eye, so fast that not even Hinata had seen Sasuke charge, flip rapidly through the seals for Chidori, and plunge his hand into Hikaru; all she had seen was a dark blur, and the unfortunate Cloud nin had seen nothing at all, as was Sasuke's intent. It took a short moment for him to register the pain, and then Hikaru was gasping silently in agony, so hurt and afraid that no sound could make its way out of him.

Hinata watched the scene unfold with a mixture of fear, disgust, and wonder. Sasuke pulled his hand out of the victim's arm, staring down at him without remorse or pity. "Get off of her," he said again. His red eyes flashed, and fear held Hikaru motionless, dripping blood down onto Hinata's face, head, and shoulders. Though Sasuke still held the crackling white Chidori in front of him as though holding a glass of wine, relaxed and terribly confident, the bleeding Cloud nin still would not move.

Someone, however, did. A long vine flew forth and wrapped tightly around Hikaru's torso, then snapped taut and heaved him away towards the nearby wall of bamboo. Ayaka caught her teammate there, releasing the vine that protruded from her sleeve and letting it fall limply to the ground below. Hinata stood up to get a better look at her. The enemy plant user was immensely changed from the last time Hinata had seen her; she was without her cloak, exposing a body that would have given the Hyuuga girl a run for her money, and her normally emotionless face was tinted with a noticeable, if minuscule, expression of fear and awe.

"We retreat from a foe much mightier than ourselves!" she cried, as though such words might stir sympathy in the Uchiha traitor's heart.

While they might not have had that particular effect, Sasuke did allow her to flee into the trees, carrying the wounded Hikaru with her. In fact, he did not even seem to notice anything except that his demand that Hikaru remove himself from Hinata was met. His cold gaze was on her now, catching her attention and demanding obedience. He released his Chidori and pulled something out of his shirt and held it clenched in his fist.

"Give this to Kiba," he said, tossing it to her. Hinata climbed to her knees and caught it, opening her palm to see what it was. She was startled to find herself holding a soldier pill. Where had he gotten _that_? She could only think that he had taken one from their packs when Neji had not been watching him. But then, why give it to his captors?

She stood up, opening her mouth to try and ask him, but Sasuke had already turned his back and was walking away. The words died in her throat as he reached the tents, disappearing into one of them without saying another thing. Confusion entered Hinata's mind. What on earth...?

A loud cough followed by a groan of pain distracted her, relieving her of her worries for a moment. Kiba had regained his consciousness and was now struggling to push himself up onto his hands and knees. The burns on his hands and face and chest were red and blistered in places, and he was gritting his teeth against the intense agony that Hinata knew must be plaguing him. Forgetting Sasuke temporarily, she ran to help her teammate. Supporting him gently with both arms, she helped him to sit up without aggravating his injuries.

"Kiba-kun, save your strength," she said, holding out the pill. "Take this..."

"Where is that bastard?" Kiba growled. He snatched up the offered medicine. "I've still got some fight in me. I'll rip him in half..."

"It's a little late for that," said Sasuke as he emerged from the tent. He had a pack slung over his shoulders, and judging by how thick it was, Hinata thought he must have had a single day's worth of supplies inside.

Kiba saw him, too. "What the?" he said, befuddled to see the traitor loose with their stuff. "Hey, where the hell do you think _you're _going, huh? Not running off to your friends in that dirt hole down there, are you?"

Sasuke secured the straps of the pack tighter and turned his back. He stood still, as though daring Kiba to come after him. "Are you going to stop me if you don't like my answer, Kiba?"

That shut the wild ninja up. Kiba had heard all about the previous battle with the traitor from Hinata; in his current state, or even possibly his normal state, the chances of him catching and holding Sasuke were slim to none. He could only hope that Naruto and the others returned soon enough to mount a decent pursuit. _Damn it,_ he said to himself, _I hate being so damned powerless..._

"Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked, sensing his anger. She gripped him a little more firmly, hoping that he wouldn't do something drastic.

"Grrr... damn," he grunted. "I guess this is our limit. We'll have to let him go, and hope Naruto runs into him."

Sasuke seemed to hear him, for his head shifted slightly, half-nodding. It looked like he was going to return the favor and let Kiba go, too.

"Tell Naruto," he said by way of farewell, "He's late." Then he vanished into the night, leaving Hinata and Kiba to contemplate the miracle of their survival.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ayaka fled far, far away from the ruined camp with Hikaru over her shoulder, putting as much distance between themselves and Kouhei's killer as possible. The fear of death gripped her still, though she was reasonably sure that the powerful enemy had not decided to follow them. What an unexpected development that had been!

_We were told that the Uchiha was a prisoner of these Konoha shinobi, _she recalled, _not an ally. If he were to become involved in our conflict at all, we were told to expect him to fight on our side, or at least to attack both sides indiscriminately. _Had this been a ploy, some trick of theirs to use as a last resort? No, it couldn't have; the expressions on their faces were of genuine shock and awe, unless they were better actors than she gave them credit for. Even the Aburame...

Aburame Shino. The one she had pursued so fervently in this mission, the one she had wanted so badly to fight and kill for the sake of honor and retribution, had been defeated... and then she had been forced to abandon the kill. Now, because her team had just lost its most powerful asset and the enemy had gained a new ally, there would be no second attempt. The mission to capture Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto, along with her personal ambitions, had ended in shocking failure. Ayaka fought back bitterness within her. Was her vengeance simply not meant to come to be?

"Ughn... Ayaka-chan..."

And then there was this fool to deal with, as if she hadn't enough disappointment on her plate. She came to a stop in a more heavily wooded part of the valley, hiding herself and Hikaru in the branch of a tall, leafy tree. There she laid him out on his back examining the wound.

Unfortunately, he picked this moment to come to his senses. "Wah!" he exclaimed, his eyes regaining their focus. "My arm!! What the hell did that red-eyed freak do to my arm?!"

"Shut up, Hikaru," Ayaka said. Her voice was subdued, reflecting her mood and the sense of defeat that weighed heavily on her. She robotically removed a roll of bandages from the pouch on her waist and started bandaging the wound with leaden fingers.

Of course, the annoying straw-haired teammate did anything but shut up. "Ayaka-chan," he asked, "Where's your cloak? That Shino guy didn't pull it off and try making any moves, did he? Not that I mind the view..."

Lacking her cloak, most of Ayaka's seeds were gone, and she would have to use the emergency set that she kept in her shirt to cultivate a new stock of them. She could not afford to waste them in punishing Hikaru for his insolence. Luckily, she still had her hands, and the palm-print left on the boy's face a moment later was large and red enough to be satisfactory.

Hikaru, finally catching on to her sour mood, ceased his antics and let her finish bandaging his arm. That limb would be useless for a long time, he realized. There was no need to have her break it for him. Instead, he occupied himself by seething with slow anger and shame at the situation.

"They really did us in," he said. "Didn't they?"

"Yes," Ayaka said, this time not arguing. "This mission has failed. When you have recovered somewhat, we will make our way back to Kumogakure. I expect you to follow me quietly and unquestioningly—there will be no revenge for you now, understood?"

Hikaru glared at her in a hurt way for a moment, but eventually heaved a sigh and nodded. "Yeah, I understand," he said. "I want to go back there and kill those guys real badly, but there's no way that we possibly can, now that Kouhei is gone and they've got that monster on their side..." He gave a small shudder, then winced in pain as the vibration agitated his arm wound. "I guess I'll just have to get used to being a loser laughingstock for now. But this ain't over between me and that Hyuuga bitch, not by a long shot..."

"Indeed, it is not."

Ayaka and Hikaru both looked upward, where they heard the voice interject from. There stood a man in black and white traditional robes. He had dark hair and brilliant silver eyes.

"Hiroto-sama," said Ayaka. The subdued tone left her voice; though she was cool-headed as normal, she was not without anger towards the client that had misinformed them. It was because of him that Kouhei had fallen and left them alone in the face of the Uchiha monster. "With all due respect, there is nothing more that we can do. Kouhei is dead, I am without most of my plants, and Hikaru is seriously injured. We apologize, but the mission has failed. Kumogakure will compen..."

"The mission will continue," Hiroto said, a stern look on his face. "Stop cowering like worms. Uchiha Sasuke is an associate of Orochimaru, the same as I. Everything that has taken place has done so according to our design..."

"Oh, so killing Kouhei was all just part of your happy little plan, was it?" Hikaru asked, taken by a sudden fury. "Our teammate was just a pawn in your big game? How are we supposed to accept that load of bullsh..."

Hikaru was cut off for the second time that night by an opponent charging at unknowable speed. He yelped in pain as he was slammed up against the trunk of the tree, and blood began to soak his bandages more heavily.

"It would seem as though you do not quite understand me," said Hiroto, his expression halfway between a grin and a snarl. Hikaru found himself wishing that the higher-ups had killed this Hyuuga rather than opting to work with him. It was ironic, in a way; when Hiroto had first proposed the mission, Hikaru had been the first to bite at the hook. He was deeply regretting his earlier enthusiasm now.

"N-no..." he grunted through the pressure of Hiroto's palm on his chest. "I... understand perfectly... sir!"

"Is that so?" Hiroto said, fixing him maliciously in his Byakugan gaze. Hikaru gulped down fear.

Ayaka stood by, unable to do anything. She felt somewhat badly for her teammate—a rarity for her—but this was the mission client. Despite him being a Hyuuga, the Raikage had approved working with him and had given explicit instructions not to harm him.

Still...

"Hiroto-sama," she asked, "How may we be serve you effectively in this condition?"

The traitor Hyuuga released Hikaru, allowing him to fall painfully back onto the branch. He turned to Ayaka, a look of smugness on his face.

"Orochimaru will provide your friend with medical attention, and a place where you may re-cultivate your weapons. I will take you there now, and then we will discuss plans for the final confrontation..."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"What the heck is all that light?" Naruto wondered aloud. He was looking ahead into the distance, where the team's camp was supposed to be. "That's definitely not fire."

"You're right, Naruto," Sakura agreed. "It looks like electric light..."

"It is neither," Neji stated. His Byakugan was active, as it had been since they had seen the enormous flash of cylindrical lightning and heard the booming thunder that followed closely after. Thinking that the others had fallen under siege, they had increased their speed, running at breakneck speed back toward the camp. It had been four minutes since that great flash, but much could happen between shinobi in four minutes. Now, less than a minute away from the camp, they were praying that everyone was all right.

"Neither one?" Naruto asked. "Then what is it? What can you see, Neji?"

"It's difficult to make out a source," came Neji's reply, "But whatever it is was planted in the trees and the brush. Most likely, it is one of the creations of the Cloud shinobi, Ayaka."

"_Her?_" Sakura said incredulously, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "I still have a score to settle with her. If she's done anything to Hinata this time..."

"I'll beat her to a bloody pulp," Naruto finished. His face had been one of confusion and worry, but now was set in grim determination.

Sakura smiled a moment, and then matched his expression with her own. "And I'll be right there with you," she said.

Then she thought she caught sight of something passing them by. It was fleeting and very vague; just a dark shape flitting through the night. _What was that? Was it the enemy retreating? Why only one of them?_

"Get ready, both of you," Neji ordered, stopping her wondering. "We might be about to enter a combat area. Be prepared for anything."

The next second, the three of them entered the light of the camp, all eyes peeled and ready for danger. They found no battle facing them, however; only the aftermath greeted them. And what an aftermath! There were gouges and claw marks in the ground, dust scattered in the air, and a patch of ground that looked like it had been temporarily turned into a geyser. Beyond that, they could see a large circular crater, presumably where the huge pillar of lightning had struck, and a solid wall of tall, thick stalks of what looked like bamboo. And huddled in a tired, ragged group near the tents...

"Hinata!!" Naruto yelled, spotting her and the others. Sakura followed him toward them, retrieving her medical pack, while Neji continued to survey the area. "Kiba, Shino, Ero-Sennin... What happened?!"

"A lot," Kiba grunted. "No, Sakura, not me. Akamaru first..." The dog was propped up, unconscious against Kiba and Shino's tent. He was more badly burned than his master, and his fur was singed so badly in some parts that it had turned jet black. Sakura gave a nod, and went to tend the big dog.

"'A lot,' huh?" Naruto said. "What do you mean by that? Hinata, what the hell happened here? You're okay, right?" He grabbed the midnight-haired Hyuuga gently by the shoulders and stared intently at her dirt-smudged face.

Hinata smiled, trying to give an impression of fortitude and strength for him. "I'm fine, Naruto-kun. I was the one who was least hurt. But, Sasu..."

"The enemies from the Cloud took advantage of your absence and attacked us," Shino interrupted. He sat on a charred log that he had commandeered from the remains of the campfire. He wore his sunglasses, but the hood of his jacket was down and he had his bugs crawling all over him, which creeped Naruto out and caused him to recoil from the bug user for a short moment.

When the blond recovered himself, he asked further questions. "So those three guys did all this?"

"Yeah," Kiba confirmed. "They got us completely by surprise."

"Really?" Sakura asked. "But, Jiraiya-sama should have been able to..."

"The plant-nin, Ayaka, attacked Jiraiya-sama with the same poison that she used to kill my insects," Shino continued. "The lights were also her doing, placed to allow her teammate to use his jutsu to hide within the light. When Jiraiya appeared in his weakness, we had only a moment to prepare before the attack came. The enemy leader fought Jiraya personally. The plant-nin trapped me away from the others and fought me one-to-one. The one hiding in the light fought Hinata and Kiba."

Naruto let out a huge sigh of relief. So it had been what they'd expected after all, nothing worth worrying about. Sakura would patch up the wounded and everything would be all right. "So, you guys beat 'em, huh? I knew the Cloud were a bunch of pansies. All that hiding and sneaking around, and they still couldn't win... I almost pity 'em!"

The orange-clad ninja was surprised to see that his friends did not share his relief. Shino inclined his head towards the ground slightly, and Kiba took on an angry look, staring off into the night. Naruto was dumbstruck, and turned to Hinata for reassurance. None was there; her eyes were averted as though in shame and—dare he even think it?—apology.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," she began, causing the boy to go pale.

"Wha... what do you mean?" Naruto asked, the worry returning to his countenance.

"All of us, Jiraiya-sama included," Shino said, "Were defeated."

This declaration turned even Neji's head. The team leader came walking briskly over to them, anxious to hear the rest of the report. "How did you survive, Shino?" he asked. Then, on an afterthought: "Where is Uchiha? I do not see him nearby or in any of the tents."

"Sasuke?" Naruto echoed. He didn't want to believe it, and yet he was certain that he was about to hear it.

"Uchiha Sasuke took advantage of the enemy's fatigue, and defeated two of them," Shino reported. "He then retrieved one day's worth of food supplies and left the area. You arrived approximately one minute after he escaped."

"One... one minute?" Sakura asked. Suddenly she thought she knew what the dark shape she'd seen was.

Neji's first thoughts were different. "Uchiha Sasuke saved you from the enemy attack?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"That is correct," Shino confirmed. The bugs crawling on his face and hands, cleaning off the last of the nerve poison, finished their task and withdrew back into the confines of their living hive. The hood of the jacket went back over the bug user's head. "And he said this: 'Tell Naruto he's late.'"

Naruto, who had been standing aghast since learning that Sasuke was gone, put his fist through the tent that he was standing next to. "Damn that guy!" he said. "I thought if I ignored him, he'd settle down, but now he's gone and done it. The moment I see him again, I'm gonna rip his head off!"

"If I may say so, Naruto," Shino said, "The next time you see him, you may not be seeing 'him' at all. You might be seeing Orochimaru instead."

Naruto began shaking in anger. "So what! I'm through trying to save his ungrateful ass. If he throws away his life that way, I couldn't care less; I'll take his head off anyway!"

"Naruto..." Sakura said softly, unhappy to see her teammate like this.

Hinata thought along the same lines, staring at him with a mixture of sadness and guilt, for if she had been more alert, this might not have happened. She kept quiet about it—she knew Naruto wouldn't accept her blaming herself for this—but in her own mind, she held onto an apology.

"That's enough of that," Neji said, taking charge. "What has been done cannot be changed. We need to adjust to this and carry out our mission like professional shinobi." Everyone turned their eyes toward him, each acknowledging his command grimly and silently.

"We are going to move the tents out of this unsafe area, and then we are going to rest until daybreak," he commanded. "Taking into account that Uchiha only stole one day of supplies and interpreting his message to Naruto another way, I am going to assume that Orochimaru is either already in the Grave or very near it. Therefore we will begin our mission at sunrise tomorrow, before the enemy can move again. Is that understood?"

Affirmations went around the whole group, minus the unconscious Jiraiya and Akamaru. Neji gave a nod of acknowledgment.

"Good," he said. "Sakura, you will stay with Jiraiya-sama and Kiba tonight. If they do not recover by morning, we will begin the mission without them."

"Hai, Neji-san."

"Shino, if you are well enough, I will ask you to stand watch for the first four hours tonight. Wake me when that time is over so that I can relieve you."

Shino nodded.

"Hinata-sama," Neji concluded, looking at his cousin with a weathered face, "Please remain with Naruto again tonight. Make sure that both of you get enough rest."

Hinata went from slightly sulky to slightly red as she hastened to comply to her leader's commands.

"Okay," Neji finished. "Get moving."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Little by little, Keisuke was beginning to feel stronger. There were advantages to being the offspring of a powerful demon, despite being created as a victim; the yellow-tinted, sickly-looking chakra that flowed in him had healing properties similar to those of the chakra of the Kyuubi that was sealed in Naruto. Granted, they were not nearly as strong as those of the Kyuubi, but they still resulted in regeneration that was faster than normal. Add to that Haruka's nursing—if you could call it nursing—and the lack of any new injury, and things were looking up rather quickly.

The Sadist had made herself useful in an interesting manner following her emotional episode. First, she had scrubbed (or attacked, depending on one's point of view) his open wounds with a strip of cloth torn from her sleeve as he lay flat, scrubbing at them vigorously until most of the dirt was removed from them. She had laughed almost maniacally when he commented on her rough methods, but rather than arguing over it, she had used a softer instrument to moisten and clean away the last vestiges of filth.

This last experience had certainly been much more enjoyable, if a little awkward in places. He'd heard the expression, "to lick one's wounds," but he had never seen it taken quite so literally. She had begun at his hands and arms, which wasn't terribly strange. After each cut had been cleaned to satisfaction, Haruka bandaged it with another strip of cloth torn from her clothing, and then moved onto the next injury. It was when this "cleaning" reached his legs, back, and chest and his partner grew increasingly less covered that he began to feel strange about the process, and was glad that nobody had walked into the room and seen them.

When it was finished, Keisuke found that his cuts were much more comfortable to move, and expressed his gratitude to his partner by staring with his new eyes at her new look. Her sleeves were completely gone, as were much of her pants, which were now roughly cut off at the middle of her thighs. In addition, some strips had been torn from the lower part and neck of her shirt, exposing a great deal of her torso. The once-blind man, hopelessly enthralled by his newfound vision, stared shamelessly at the wealth of bare skin that knelt next to him.

"Having fun, pervert?" Haruka said, noting the attention. Keisuke yanked his eyes away from her cleavage to her face, embarrassment turning him an interesting color. Haruka grinned evilly at him, apparently not bothered by the attention, but Keisuke had the feeling that she was going to be blackmailing him with it later.

"Not as much fun as you're going to be having once we're out of here, I expect," he answered. He was not surprised to see her smile widen. "Speaking of which, have you got any ideas yet?"

Haruka's grin faded some at this. "Not yet, sukebe-Keisuke. I don't think we'd get very far if we did, though; you're getting better, but push yourself too hard and you'll end up moaning on your back again. You know I'd have to give you an ass-kicking if you drag me down that way."

Keisuke's turn to smile came as he recalled the "ass-kicking" he'd received the first time around. If it weren't for the other, more serious consequences of getting re-injured and stuck here longer, he might actually consider it. "All right, then," he said, "Let's sleep on it. Hopefully I'll recover some more by morning and one of us will have some kind of idea."

Nodding in agreement, Haruka lay down by his side. "No fooling around, either," she warned mischievously. "In your state, you might not survive trying to keep up with me."

Though he might have taken the time to come up with a witty retort, Keisuke was tired and needed his sleep, so he elected to simply give a little chuckle and close his eyes. He felt his partner make herself comfortable, nestling against him in the cold and dark stone chamber. Surprisingly, he found the feel of her smooth skin on his to be even more pleasant than the sight of it. _ Ah, that's just the sensate focus that comes from being blind all your life,_ he thought to himself.

But as he lay in the dark and listened to Haruka's soft breathing and strong heartbeat, he found his thoughts turning less pleasant and more predicament-oriented. In particular, he thought about the change in care that his host had made when Haruka had been brought here.

He could explain the lack of continued experimentation and mind-torture. Since Orochimaru had, by his own admission, failed to get what it was he wanted out of Keisuke, and so there had been no more reason for the abominable tests. The dream torture had ceased because Keisuke had already survived the worst times of his life, and therefore there was no point in further treatment. There was no need to torture him physically, either; he had proven himself able to endure the worst physical pain twice over.

Yet there were things about Orochimaru's hospitality that were unexplained, the biggest of which was the implantation of functional eyes into Keisuke's formerly-empty sockets. So far, this had yielded nothing but good for Keisuke, which surely could not be his intent in the long run. Did the snake Sannin intend to make good on his long-ago desire to find out if blind people suffered more pain than people with sight? Somehow, Keisuke did not think that this was it.

And also, why let Haruka continue to stay with him? What purpose did that serve for Orochimaru, other than to make Hiroto stop complaining about how painful it was to deal with her? Like the eyes, she had only been a help to him, speeding up his recovery and helping to soothe his tortured mind. There was definitely something amiss in here, and Keisuke could not sleep for thinking too hard.

As if on queue, the door to the cell suddenly opened with a creak, causing him to open his eyes and Haruka to pull herself upright. _Aha, _Keisuke thought, _perhaps now some light will be shed on this? _He strained his ears waiting for the person who entered to speak, hoping that he would recognize Orochimaru or Kabuto's voice.

The look on Haruka's face, however, told him that he wasn't going to. She did not show any signs of recognizing this person, who had dark eyes, and a tall frame, who was wearing full-length black shinobi battle-gear and a black mask carrying a large satchel. Yet, strangely, there was no question in this young man's face that he knew who they were. And the confident, terrible, dark power that Keisuke could feel in his aura suggested that he could give a damn about what they thought of him.

"Who the hell are you, kid?" Haruka asked bluntly. "A flunky errand boy? Tell Orochimaru to get us some cleaner water in here, the stuff we have tastes like sewage."

If the dark young man was amused by this, he did not show it. He stared blankly at Haruka as though contemplating what to make of her. This annoyed her, and she glared challengingly him. Keisuke thought he could see why; she'd been locked up a while, and was itching for a good fight.

"Well?" she growled after a moment of silence. "Are you going to get that water or just stare at me all night long? One pervert is enough for my satisfaction, thank you."

The boy remained motionless for another moment, and seemed to be considering something. However, this time he finally chose to react, reaching into the satchel and drawing forth a canteen, which he tossed to Haruka without a word.

"Thank the gods," Haruka said, uncapping it and taking a swig without bothering to test for poison. It was good water, however, and she lowered it from her lips looking somewhat pleased. "Took you long enough," she said. "You wouldn't happen to have any food in there, would you?"

"What is it you came here for?" asked Keisuke, speaking for the first time. "Are you one of Orochimaru's people, here to take us to our next hell, or are you our ally? At least clear this up for us."

The dark man answered no questions, but reached into his satchel once again. When he withdrew his hand, he was holding a small pill box, which he tossed to Keisuke just as silently as he had tossed the water. Keisuke opened the box carefully, surprised to discover five pills neatly lined up and ready for consumption. One space, where a sixth pill would have been, was empty.

"I'm assuming these aren't poisoned, either?" Keisuke asked, once again getting no answer.

"No," Haruka said, spying them, "Those are soldier pills. They're supposed to increase your chakra, and it's said that a single one can enable a soldier to fight for three days and nights straight. Damn, I guess this guy isn't one of Orochimaru's guys after all. What else do you have in there, kid?"

Kid, as Keisuke named him in his head, was already taking out something else from the bag—a large, heavy-looking scroll that he hefted with surprising ease in one hand. Kid leaned that up against the wall of the chamber before plunging his hand in a fourth and final time, withdrawing something that Keisuke had not had the fortune to see but which made Haruka suppress a gasp. It was a finely sculpted figurine, which had the shape of a handsome man with spiked hair, wearing a long coat.

"Yondaime Hokage," Haruka breathed. "I remember this trinket... It was one of my last pranks on Naruto and Hinata."

"I'll ask which prank that was later," Keisuke said. "But more importantly, this means that he came from Naruto's group, or at least was sent by them."

"Well, I'll be damned," Haruka said. "Kid, you've redeemed yourself. Who are you, anyway? We're going to have you commended when we get home."

Keisuke thought that the young man would remain silent and either leave them or motion for them to follow. He turned out to be wrong; Kid spoke in a dark voice that expressed deep emotion and yet simultaneously expressed nothing at all.

"I do not think the chances of me being commended are very high, Hyuuga Haruka," he said. He turned and walked out of the cell, closing and locking the door behind him.

Keisuke wondered what Kid had meant by that, and also why he had left without taking them. Perhaps it was too dangerous for them to leave right now? Maybe it was impossible to slip past Orochimaru and his underlings in Keisuke's wounded state, and Kid would return after he had recovered some more?

That might have explained the medicine and the water, and the statuette was obviously for identification, but what was the scroll for? Keisuke crawled over to it, and began examining it thoroughly. He did not use his eyes, for he was still not used to them and knew they were prone to mistakes. Instead he felt the scroll with his fingers and his chakra, trying to determine its nature as he would in blindness.

His heart almost missed a beat as he realized what it was. This was a summoning contract! Where had Kid gotten his hands on one of these? Still it was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth; if he was right, this thing could be a big help in their escape. Excited at the prospect, he turned to share the happy news with his partner...

Only to discover Haruka with her back pressed against the wall, Byakugan activated, staring through the solid cell door with an appalled look on her face.

"What the...? Haruka?"

"Kill me now," she said, "Before the poison starts working. If I'm going to die, I'm doing it on my own terms!"

"What poison?" Keisuke asked. "That guy was on our side, wasn't he?"

His confused expression turned to one of worry when he saw her turn towards him with mechanical slowness. Apparently, he had not been.

"The kid that was just in here," Haruka said, "Was with Naruto, but he's definitely not on our side. That was Uchiha Sasuke."

OoOoOoOo Sasuke-yose no Jutsu! End Chapter 14 oOoOoOoO

**Next chapter: **Neji's team prepares to enter the Grave despite major setbacks. What danger awaits them? What could the implications of Sasuke's actions be?


	17. C15: Recollections

**A/N: **New links have been added to my Author Profile! Enjoy new Keisuke/Haruka fanart courtesy of Gabzilla (Thanks again, Gaby!) and a mindless attempt at humor by yours truly. In the meantime, I'm still working hard to finish this story before I leave—only one month to go, and counting! Wish me luck, and hope that I have time to write something else in my lifetime.

Edit: This chapter was delayed thanks to a certain two someones making me "busy..."

**Chapter Fifteen: Recollections**

The night was still young when Neji's team finished moving camp. There would be a good deal of time to sleep, for the battle had taken place moments after sunset and had lasted mere minutes, leaving the rest of the evening and morning hours for sleep and healing. Having moved out of the bright light and mess, the team was also away from signs that would point them out to any patrols from unfriendly armies. Conditions for safe rest could not have been better in this situation.

Shino remained awake on Neji's orders, however, just in case someone did happen to run across them. Nor did the bug user believe that any of his comrades would be sleeping for some time to come. They, like he, had all been affected negatively in those few minutes and would lie awake thinking about their experiences until they exhausted their minds. Luckily, Shino had reason to be wide awake now, and could think over the battle without trying feverishly to forget about it.

He occupied his body by standing away from the tents where his comrades lay, having his insects move in small swarms around the tiny enclosure of trees where the team now rested. Every few minutes, he would move to another corner of the enclosure, walking silently along the length of the row of tents until he reached the other side. He walked clockwise in this pattern, always quiet, not disturbing his friends though he knew they were all very much awake; he could even hear Naruto talking in what was likely a low tone for him but easily audible outside the tent.

_That Naruto, _Shino thought. _He has become restless again. Did he really mean what he said about decapitating Sasuke? _

Shino thought Naruto's behavior following Sasuke's disappearance had been off for the blond shinobi. Not long ago, Naruto had been absolutely determined to retrieve and "save" the Uchiha betrayer. Shino understood that he had recently resolved to put Sasuke from his thoughts and let his actions do the talking, but he had not expected that Naruto would react with such hostility to this development. What was really going on in Naruto's mind?

Eventually, he decided to let Hinata solve this mystery and concentrate on his own problems. Chief among those was the enemy plant ninja, Ayaka; she had out-performed him in single combat, and though he had managed to create a weakness in her defense through timely psychological warfare, she had quickly capitalized on the mistake he had made in his follow-up. Now, he would be on guard against such potent defenses, but his opponent would no longer be susceptible to his verbal tactic. The next battle would be a repeat of the first, but without the respective tricks; a close-range combat in which Shino had the disadvantage.

If there even _was_ a next battle. Having lost their most powerful ally, Ayaka and her surviving teammate had retreated in fear and awe of Sasuke, and with Jiraiya left alive, it was unlikely that they would make another attempt on Hinata or Naruto unless those two were miraculously separated from the rest of the team. The only other way that they could possibly recuperate from this loss would be to ally themselves with Orochimaru, and the Cloud had already shown that they fought only for themselves in this war.

Still, Shino could not rule out that possibility, and he had a strong feeling that whether they did so in the near future or not, there would be a final reckoning between Ayaka and himself one day. He needed to be prepared if that were the case. He spent at least an hour thinking over her fighting style, trying to remember if there had been any weak points in that sweeping power of hers. He recalled every thrust and parry, every twist and step, the slight change in facial expression she made when she sensed an opening in his defenses. Analyzing it all mentally, he tried to think of how he should prepare himself for the next encounter. He made some progress; he recalled a number of instances where he had stepped or moved incorrectly, and filed away the information for later use.

The only large bit of detailed information that he found, however, was the interesting way in which the fabric of Ayaka's black combat suit shifted as her chest heaved beneath it.

_It is unfortunate that the insects cannot cure human hormones, _Shino thought. _If they could have, I would have been victorious already._

Being unable to get any more use out of his recent memories, his thoughts turned to those memories that were older and more distant: the forgotten ones of twelve years ago, when the Kumo representatives had entered Konoha. There was very little that the young Aburame remembered of that time, but as the reason for Ayaka's apparent vendetta was buried there, Shino found himself straining to remember.

The most prominent memories he had of that time were those of the festival. A great procession had wound itself through the streets of Konoha, leading up to the Hokage mansion. Shino remembered watching it from high atop a building—the Hokage tower itself, he suddenly realized—and then going down with his father, who represented their clan, to meet the Cloud leaders that arrived there.

There had been a great many important people present at that meeting, he recalled. All of the clans of the Leaf—minus the Hyuuga, who were occupied with the birthday of their successor—were there, as was the Sandaime Hokage. Sarutobi had greeted the Raikage's ambassador warmly, and introduced each Konoha representative in turn. The ambassador had brought only a few along with him, but he introduced these with enthusiasm.

As hard as he tried, Shino could not remember any of the Kumogakure clans that had been represented that day, much less the Ibara clan that Ayaka had professed to being a member of. He could not even remember their faces or the clothing that they wore. The only thing related to the plant user's story was the memory of a nameless, faceless man who approached Shino's father, whom young Shino had taken note of due to proximity but then forgotten among the lights and the noise. There had been no young girl with that man.

_What happened after the festival? _Shino asked himself. For a moment, his brain brought nothing forward. He moved across the quiet camp, hoping for the soft breeze to stir his memories up to the surface.

There came something, then; when the Aburame representative and his son went home that day, there were guests in the hive cluster, being toured through it by Shino's mother and uncle. Insects swarmed everywhere, but the young Aburame heir had noted with childish curiosity that they swarmed especially thickly around the guests. Then one of the guests had produced a brilliant blossom—Shino could not remember what color—and the bugs had immediately converged on it, practically bathing themselves in the pollen of the thing.

Shino had gone over to that guest and asked what kind of flora it was that the insects liked so much, a question to which he could not recall the reply. He did remember that the stranger had let him have one of the flowers, though, drawing out a second one through the cloak they were wearing and handing it to him hesitantly.

_Cloak... I remember now, _Shino realized. _That guest was a child—her. It may be that she was absolutely correct in her story. But why is she wearing that heavy cloak even at such a young age?_

He thought and thought again, but in vain; he did not remember why she had been wearing it, though he had the feeling that there was a good reason for it. Nor could he remember what had happened after the guests had left; it was possible that in the events that followed, the Ibara did not return to the Aburame compound. Therefore, Shino had remembered enough to confirm that Ayaka had been to Konoha twelve years ago, but his memory could not validate any more than that.

His four hours of watch duty ended with little having been solved. As he went into his tent to rouse Neji to take his place, he knew that he would find sleep as difficult as the others had.

The bug user's mind wandered again to Ayaka's beautiful form. Laying down on his bedroll, he tried to picture what she might have looked like as a child. He never had gotten a good look at her back then since she had snatched her hand and face back under the protection of her cloak as soon as she was finished interacting with him...

_The _protection_ of the cloak,_ he realized. _Protection from what...?_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The largest of the team's tents had become the medical tent. Like Shino, Sakura had a task with which to occupy herself and stay awake. She was more visibly grateful for that than her stoic, bug-hosting ally, and threw herself into her work of healing with a vengeance as her mind raced over today's events.

Both Jiraiya's and Kiba's ailments were easily identified and treated. Jiraiya was suffering from simple chakra exhaustion, as Copy-Ninja Kakashi sometimes did when forced to use his Sharingan too excessively. With a few days of rest, he would be as healthy and perverse as he normally was. Kiba's malady was more serious; apart from a number of bruises, he had suffered mild electrocution and several first- and second-degree burns on his head, hands, and torso. Sakura applied a soothing balm and padded gauze to these, then let the boy sleep, occasionally returning to check on him and, if she hadn't for a while, use a jutsu she had learned to speed cellular regeneration, holding it for a few seconds over each major burn. With luck, Kiba would be ready to fight again by morning.

Akamaru, despite Kiba's insistence that the dog was far worse off than he, was in bad but still stable shape. Looking him over, Sakura had found no broken bones or fractures and no damage to the internal systems. In fact, the huge beast had only the same problems that his master did, plus a mild concussion. The burns were even less serious than Kiba's due to the large amount of fur that was between the heat and the skin. There was little that Sakura could do about the blackened, charred hairs, but the burns themselves would be easily healed.

It seemed that most of team would be able to continue on in good fighting shape, for which Sakura felt a surging relief. Jiraiya would be unable to take part in the next day's operations, but this was no terrible loss when one took into account the mission parameters. Tsunade-sama had been confident enough to send this team on this mission without backup, and the Godaime Hokage was always a trustworthy and knowledgeable person in Sakura's book. And now that they did not have Sasuke to look after, they would be able to concentrate their efforts solely on the rescue and reconnaissance that they'd been sent to do in the first place.

Too late, Sakura realized that she'd thought about _him_ again. Now she would be stuck in that train of thought and all the terrible and wonderful things that might be implied. She stopped her current examination of the Frog Hermit, knowing that the only way to banish these thoughts now would be to let them play themselves out. She laid herself out comfortably along the long side of the tent, folding her arms behind her head.

Once comfortable, the medic resigned herself to getting through the maelstrom of contemplation, and allowed the vision of Uchiha Sasuke to once again pervade her mind. Sakura recognized two Sasukes, both of which she thought of now. The first Sasuke was her Sasuke, the one that she had loved and known affectionately as "Sasuke-kun" in her earlier years. The second Sasuke was The Avenger, the automaton devoted to finding and destroying Uchiha Itachi who did not care for anything else.

For three years following the application of the terrible dark Curse that Orochimaru used to brand his future containers, Sakura had held out hope that Sasuke-kun could overcome the horrible Avenger and be the genius Konoha nin that his parents had meant him to be. If not, she had hoped that Naruto would be able to blow like a storm into the electric, crackling heart of The Avenger and revive the dying fire that was Sasuke-kun, ending the conflict violently but satisfactorily.

When all of her hopes failed—twice now that Naruto had fought him a second time with no better result—Sakura had, sadly but necessarily, made the assumption that "Sasuke-kun" was now dead, mutilated and destroyed by his terrible other half. Her attitude towards the dark-haired Uchiha had changed dramatically then; she had begun referring to him merely as _him_, and had struck him twice when he had fallen out of the boundaries of his captivity. Since there was no longer any Sasuke-kun within The Avenger to worry about injuring, she had been able to do so with a clean conscience. She had even felt better after hitting him!

But if the good Sasuke was dead, then why had he deigned to save her friends? Most of the others would tell her that it was probably a trick, all part of a greater evil plan, that The Avenger was taking one step back to take three steps forward. Perhaps Naruto would be one of those others, and that would help to ease her concerns—Naruto had been, after all, the closest person to Sasuke for as long as they had known each other, almost. Still, what if he was as confused as she was? Did that mean there was a possibility that the good Sasuke was still alive? If so... was he finally fighting The Avenger for dominance after so much time?

And if he was, what would Uchiha Sasuke do when the team began their operations tomorrow? She did not know, or even have a clue.

_I guess, _she thought, pulling herself back into a sitting position, _that all any of us can do is to carry out the mission. _

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hyuuga Neji, the genius of the Hyuuga family, the one most gifted with the Byakugan in his generation. That was what had been said of him. He had done all that he could to live up to that reputation, vowing to never lose for the sake of those who believed him a genius and depended on him because of it. That determination had earned him a quick promotion to the Chuunin and then Jounin ranks and his old sensei, Maito Gai, had even offered to drop hints to ANBU for him recently. He was renowned in the village as a capable, respectable leader.

He had led a number of missions since his promotions, and nearly all of those had been successful. Those few that had failed were the ones that had met with impassable resistance or extenuating circumstances, nothing that could have hurt his otherwise perfect track record. The only person from their generation that rivaled his record was Nara Shikamaru, and Neji, who had a great respect for the younger Jounin, did not mind at all sharing the repute with him.

Right now, though, Neji wished that Shikamaru could be here with them instead of back in Konoha, organizing defensive positions against the Hidden Mist. The brilliant young tactician's aid would have been indispensable to the Hyuuga prodigy and would have enabled them to prepare for the coming day much more thoroughly in the same short amount of time. Neji knew there would be no hope of such help, though.

That was too bad; the situation was by now so complex and so unpredictable that even the most effective preparation was guaranteed to be out-done somehow. Haruka lost and quite possibly dead, Jiraiya out of commission for a while, Naruto having nightmares, and now Sasuke...

This last one was a huge question mark. Uchiha Sasuke could influence the following events heavily in the favor of one side or the other. The problem was, nobody but he knew whose side he was on for certain. If Neji guessed wrongly and led them into his path, all of them could die. But if Neji put his faith in the possibility that Sasuke was on their side, or at least did not care about this mission, then they would get one of their comrades back and possibly retrieve information that would enable Konoha to end the menace of Orochimaru forever.

In the end, Neji knew that he must follow his orders and attempt to complete the mission. That, and Naruto would never retreat from this situation. There was no going back now. He only hoped that he would be able to get those who depended on his leadership home alive...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Damn that bastard," Naruto growled in his bedroll. He'd tried to put Sasuke from his mind again, like he had before, but now that the Uchiha missing-nin was gone, he found that to be difficult. He knew that Hinata probably didn't want to be reminded of the terror that Sasuke had been, but he couldn't keep this buried right at the moment.

She seemed more preoccupied with soothing his mental hurts than bugged by them, however. She reclined on her own bedroll a mere half-foot away from his, where she could easily look him in the eyes and talk to him while they lay in the darkness. Naruto felt a pang of guilt for that; she was such a nice person, and he had to be subjecting her to this.

"Naruto-kun?" she asked, "You didn't really mean it when you said that you were going to kill him, did you? Oh, no..." When he favored her with a look of surprise, she clarified, "No, I don't mean to question your integrity, it's just... I thought you would be more hopeful when we told you that Uchiha-san protected us..." Her eyes averted to the floor, and she waited for his loud and feverish denial.

She shouldn't have worried; Naruto looked at her blankly a moment, then exhaled deeply. Hinata looked up to see him smiling slightly. "You Hyuuga," he said, shaking his head slowly, "Are way too perceptive even without your Byakugan."

Now it was Hinata's turn to be perplexed. "What do you mean, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's head turned to face the ceiling, and he stared up at the thick tent canvas as though he could gaze at the stars beyond it. Hinata had the feeling that he was about to reveal a deep secret to her. Though she was honored and excited that she was friendly enough with him to be told such things, she hoped that it would not be a terrible secret. Anything, be it good or bad, was possible when it came to Naruto and Sasuke.

"What I mean," Naruto said, "Is that you're right. I _was_ excited when I heard that Sasuke saved you, though I didn't want to be."

"Didn't... didn't want to be?" Hinata asked, astounded. "Why? If it means that Uchiha-san is on our side, then..."

"Then it means that I won, that I saved him?" Naruto finished. "That's what I want to believe. I wanna believe it so badly that it hurts. But I can't believe it so easily. He didn't come back to us when the fight was over, did he?"

"No," Hinata admitted, "He didn't. Still, this must be proof that you've made some impact on him, isn't it?"

Naruto folded his arms behind his head as he said, "I don't know. It might be, but it might just be that it isn't in his plan to have us dead yet. Don't ask me how that's part of his plan, because I have no idea, but I just can't assume that he's suddenly come to his senses. If he hasn't, then it will just be a big repeat of last time..."

_Last time, _Hinata thought. _I remember when he came home trying to bring him back the first time. He was so hurt, both inside and out..._

"You've probably already guessed it," Naruto said, "Being so smart, but I don't want to be disappointed again. The last time I put faith in that bastard, he pissed my faith down the toilet and flushed it away. If I try to put faith in him again, and it turns out he's just playing me..." he shuddered, remembering how he had tried so hard, even when Sasuke held his Chidori poised against his heart three years ago, to believe that Sasuke hadn't fully succumbed to evil. How blind he had felt when he had woken up...

Hinata understood what he was trying to say. Naruto was remembering the betrayals of the past, and was afraid to think the best of his old friend for fear that his faith would be shot down again. This was why he had reacted with anger rather than hope when he had learned that Sasuke had saved them and then run away. She reached over to his sleeping mat and rested her hand on his arm, causing him to face her again with questioning blue eyes.

"_I_ have faith in _you_," she said. "You've succeeded in so many things you set out to do; you showed everyone that you were not a loser, you defeated Neji-niisan and taught him a better way to live, for which he is very grateful, and your skills are constantly improving, reaching towards Hokage-level. You made a promise three years ago that you would bring Sasuke back to Konoha, and you accomplished that in the end, too. If you can do all of that, then there is no reason that I can see for you to have completely failed in redeeming your friend."

What followed was a familiar scene: Naruto silent and staring as he absorbed the full breadth of Hinata's monologue, and Hinata watching him quietly, waiting for a response. It had happened twice already, once three years ago before the Chuunin examination, when she had smiled sheepishly and retreated behind a training post, and again more recently, when she had been fire and tears pouring forth her high opinion of him on the day when he had taken the Caged Bird seal for her. Both times, Naruto had ended up much more cheerful than he had been before. This time, she was not sheepish or fiery or tearful, but a gentle and reassuring force that looked at him with a mixture of pride, affection and certainty.

Naruto recognized all this as he came out of his momentary lapse in coherency. He was grateful for it, as he had been on both occasions in the past. Yet, it also enhanced the feeling of guilt; he almost felt as though he were taking advantage of her by shoving all of his problems onto her like this.

And her face—her beautiful, pale, pearl-eyed face framed in night-sky hair—was wearing an expression that was unmistakable now. It had been unclear to him before, at first because she had been unable to look at him at all and later because she had been masking it, but there was no hiding it now.

_Damn it,_ Naruto thought. _She really loves me. Why am I being like this?_

"You know," he said, breaking the silence, "There's a pretty high chance that one or both of us will die tomorrow..."

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, suddenly seeming appalled. She had good reason; Naruto had never admitted the possibility of his own death under normal circumstances. "Don't say that! It isn't..."

"It isn't like me?" he asked, guessing her intent. "I know. But I'm not the same kid I used to be, Hinata. I'm still me, and I'm still way too confident for my own good, but I've grown up some. I have a little better perspective of reality. I'll be damned if I go down without giving it my all in the fight, but I know there's a possibility." Hinata still looked disturbed, which he expected, but did not stop him from speaking. He was grateful for that; he wanted to get this off his chest.

"What I wanna say is this," he continued. "You mean a lot to me, Hinata. I mean a whole lot. It would probably hurt me at least as bad if you died tomorrow as it would if Sasuke put a knife through my chest."

Hinata's appalled look vanished. She now stared at him with wide white irises and a slack mouth, and though Naruto couldn't see well in the dark, he suspected that her face was turning colors. Imagining that, he gave a small, slightly pained grin.

"You've done nothing but good for me," he went on. "That's three times, counting this one, that you've brought me out of emotional funk. At the Chuunin exam three years ago, you gave me an example of toughness to follow that carried me through my fight with Neji. You're a great training partner, and I couldn't have made Futon: Rasengan that fast if hadn't been for you helping me. And when I'm hanging around you, I can have so much fun..." he sat up to get a better look at her, then fixed her straight in the eyes. "And you're damned pretty, too. You even make that ugly fox in here twitch and squirm and skulk away!"

Hinata's heartbeat was increasing rapidly. She was beginning to feel warm, as well. This was beginning to look very much like a confession. Last night, he had kissed her on the head. Would this be the time that he...?

"Hinata," he said, interrupting her thoughts, "If you don't come with us tomorrow and stay with Ero-Sennin instead, I won't hold it against you. At least then I'll know you're safe, and that'll make me feel better; my mind's got its hands full already with Sasuke. But, you know, the choice is completely yours..."

From the self-confusing manner in which he seemed to say that last sentence, it looked to Hinata as though he weren't so sure about wanting her to stay away from the fight. Was he torn between wanting to keep her safe and wanting to keep her by his side?

"Ano..." she said, rising up on her elbows unconsciously and bringing her face closer to his. "I think that if I'm with you, Naruto-kun..." her heart skipped a beat as Naruto seemed to gravitate even closer... "... I think that's the safest place I can be."

They were inches apart, now. Hinata's heart was thudding in her ears like a drummer on steroids. She was sure that her face was burning. When they had kissed the last time, it had been she who had initiated. Oh, how sweet it would be for him to reciprocate right now...

_I'm right here, _she thought. _All the love I have for you is in front of your eyes! Will you come just a little bit closer and take it? _She stopped breathing when he closed his eyes and moved closer. He would!

Naruto was consumed in appreciation for her. He felt so happy that she wanted to come with him into hell, even though she could be much safer here. _What was that checklist again, Keisuke-niichan? Trust? Check. Understanding? Check. Secrets? She knows mine, and the biggest secret she had—me--is out now. Commitment? _He stalled on this one. Were they committed to each other?

Thinking back, he'd been committed enough to guard her with his life from the Hyuuga Branch Captain, take the Caged Bird Seal for her, and to think for her safety even though she was the best combat partner he had. And there was no question in his mind, after all that she had said and done for him, that she was committed to him.

_Check,_ he thought. Without further thought, he leaned forward...

And fell across her awkwardly as his overextended weight caused the sleeping roll under him to slide backwards suddenly. He gave a loud yelp as he sprawled out, failing to catch himself in time, and both he and Hinata had the wind knocked out of them.

"Aaaaah!!" Naruto groaned at his own clumsiness. "Damn it! Sorry, Hinata!" _I screwed up the perfect chance. Sasuke knew what he was talking about when he kept saying I was clumsy! _ He extricated himself carefully, trying not to push off on her. When he was sitting up again, he saw that she was now obviously red-faced and very flustered. "Hey, you're not hurt, are you?"

"Oh... no!" Hinata answered hastily, putting on a cheerful smile. "You're not a heavy person, Naruto-kun. I'll be fine..."

Naruto knew she was physically all right, but something in her expression punched through the happy mask and said that she resented the ruined moment. He didn't blame her, but he also wasn't sure what he could do about it... except...

"That's great, I'm glad you're all right. Hey, if we... no, _when_ we survive," he said, "I, uh... wouldn't mind going out with you again, like back at that village we passed through..."

For once, Naruto seemed to be the one embarrassed by the prospect of romantic activity with Hinata rather than the other way around. He wasn't quite the deep red color that Hinata had gotten to back in the old days and didn't fidget, but his eyes were averted and his words had come slowly and carefully. It was cute, in a way, and after the surprise of being asked out by him wore off, Hinata fought to suppress a giggle. This experience hadn't turned out so fruitless, after all.

"Sure, Naruto-kun," she said brightly.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ayaka stood in the corner of a dark, dusty room under the dirt of the Grave. Hikaru had been taken further below into the depths of the underground stronghold, where the promised medical attention was being administered to his arm. She remained above with her employer, who was conversing with a tall, pale-faced man with long, dark hair and terrible eyes that had slitted pupils.

"What do you mean, the rats have left their hole?" Hiroto asked, anger showing on his handsome Hyuuga face.

"Just what I have said," Orochimaru replied with his devil grin. "My test subject and his Hyuuga accomplice incapacitated the guards that brought them their evening meal, and escaped. They are currently running loose in the facility."

"Were they not supposed to be instrumental in this jutsu that you taught me? How could you just let them go like that? Do not tell me that it was part of your twisted plan."

"Actually, they have done it much later than I expected them to," admitted the snake. "I was considering giving them a little subtle push, but it seems that they have managed it without help, as I had hoped for. This is good; I do not want them to believe that their escape has been too easy and become suspicious."

"As I thought," Hiroto growled. "Nothing is simple when dealing with you. I suppose that I will be able to catch one of them? Or will you compensate me with a new subject to use as a sacrifice?"

"There will be a large number of Konoha shinobi arriving in a few hours," Orochimaru said. "The forces and traps in the facility will keep the rats occupied until then. When the final trap is set off, then you may take as many as you please, Hiroto. Is that satisfactory?"

Hiroto glared angrily at the snake Sannin a few moments more before growling assent. "Not what the deal originally was, but I will accept it."

"Good," said Orochimaru, his smile widening. "Then our bargaining is completed. You have brought me what I desire, and I have given you what you wanted. I will leave you and the facility under Kabuto's watch; I must go to the arranged place, and wait for my new container to find me there. This current container grows more disagreeable by the moment. I trust you will enjoy the power I have given you."

And without another word, the dark master of evil ninjutsu walked sedately out of the room, entering the darkness of his facility to travel to parts unknown. Hiroto watched him go, still glaring but not objecting to his absence. When he was gone, Hiroto turned to Ayaka, who was not surprised to see a wicked grin on his face.

"Your teammate's role in this has already been arranged," he told her. "When he is ready, he will take his position and defend it with his life. I will take you to your station. Come."

Though she liked neither the look on her employer's face nor the talk that had passed between him and the dark man, she could do nothing but obey. Hikaru's life was on the line, now, because they had allowed these evil-looking folk to help them. She fingered the cloth of her new cloak absentmindedly as she walked behind Hiroto, and then a thought came to her.

Was it possible that Hiroto had arranged for the Aburame to be her opponent in this battle?

"Here," Hiroto said, opening a wide door for her. Beyond was a chamber darker than that which she had been in before. He motioned for her to enter. "Go now, and kill in the name of retribution. Both your retribution... and my own."

Ayaka peered up at the traitor Hyuuga, wondering what he was trying to accomplish by motivating her that way. The only reply was the same crazed, wicked grin. She knew that whatever it was Hiroto had planned, the zero hour was close at hand. All that was needed was for her and Hikaru to play their parts.

She turned away from him again and walked through the door, letting him close it behind her. For better or for worse, there was no other choice now. Ibara Ayaka would play her part as best she knew how.

OoOoOoOo Drumroll no Jutsu! End Chapter Fifteen oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **Team Neji's mission into the Grave commences! What is Hiroto planning, and how will they fare against the facility's defenses?


	18. C16: The Snake's Nest

**A/N: **And here we go! This will be the beginning of the end for several important characters. Prepare yourselves, for this will be one hell of an operation. I want to thank all of my faithful reviewers for continuing to support me in this last burst of fanfic-writing.

**Chapter Sixteen: The Snake's Nest**

Morning came to the place where the team had camped to find them already gone. Long before the first sliver of light entered the valley, Neji had ended his watch and roused his entire team, getting them out of their beds and ready for combat hurriedly and without argumentation. Shino had risen quietly and easily, as though he were awake already and hadn't needed sleep in all his life. Sakura had awakened with a huge yawn, obviously tired from working on her patients all night, but heeded the reveille without question and with a serious composure. Kiba and Akamaru had gotten to their feet somewhat tenderly, but proved ready and able to move within moments of waking up; Sakura had done her job well. Naruto and Hinata were found dozing comfortably against each other yet again, and Neji was almost loathe to awaken them. However, the two of them took the wake-up call surprisingly well, with only a slight complaint from Naruto before they both got up dutifully and began preparing. Neji thought he caught them smiling at each other. Jiraiya remained asleep. Once they were all mustered, they had set Akamaru to guard the resting Sennin and left before sunrise.

The team leader knew that he and his subordinates had done everything that they could to make ready for this. Now they would see if it had been enough. Determined not to be intimidated in the face of the impending conflict, he lead the team down from the lush green of the valley and into the dusty waste called the Grave.

"Ugh, man," Kiba choked as they ran down the near-vertical slope of the crater, "This dust is worse than I thought it would be! I can barely smell anything else!"

"You ain't kidding," Naruto said. "My eyes won't stop watering. How old is this place? We're just kicking up clouds of this stuff wherever we step!"

Hinata took him by the hand, leading him through the dust clouds with her superior eyes. "There are some rockier parts down at the bottom," she said. "When we get there, we should be able to avoid most of this. Just a little bit farther, Naruto-kun."

"Really?" Naruto asked. "I never thought I'd care about a rock that much, but right about now, it sounds really, really good."

"Yeah, you've got a point..." agreed Sakura.

"Listen up," Neji said. "We're going to hit the ground soon. When we do, we're going to be silent: visual communication only. Understand?" He didn't wait for the affirmative answers before continuing, "Hinata-sama and I are going to be looking for the entrance to the enemy facility. Hinata-sama, it should be near some old wreckage to the northeast.

"When we find it, we are going to split into two parties. Naruto, Hinata-sama, Shino, and Sakura-san will go looking for Keisuke-san. If you encounter enemies, silence them before they alert the entire facility. Kiba and I will infiltrate stealthily and carry out reconnaissance operations. Shino, you are the leader of the rescue team."

"Understood," Shino acknowledged. He had pulled his jacket hood securely over his head against the dust, and left it there when the team hit horizontal ground and started running over the rocks, using them as stepping stones in an ocean of choking dust. He assumed his leadership role without another word, leaping in front of Naruto and the others to run alongside Neji.

With two Byakugans sweeping the area, the entrance to the underground fortress was located in under a minute. Neji signaled to the others and pointed towards a cluster of specks in the distance—the remains of what had once been a thriving town. The team approached it at maximum speed.

_Everything is going smoothly thus far,_ Neji thought to himself. _How long will it be until the trouble starts?_

When they reached the ruins, those without Byakugan eyes were greeted with a sight far different than what they had expected. Where they thought they would see petrified wood-and-stone houses, perhaps some of them in pieces or slightly rotted, they saw only scraps of eroded rock in the vague shapes of what might have been the foundations of buildings. This was because the wreckage was older than they were by several centuries; having lain there, prone to the wind and sun, for all that time, most of the stone had turned to sand and the wood had all rotted away in the heat.

They had very little time to look at it, however. As soon as they arrived, Neji motioned for them all to follow him through the entrance: a small genjutsu-obscured man-sized hole, covered by a grate and made to look like a sand drift. Silently, they dropped inside one-by-one.

Beyond that entrance and approximately twelve feet down on a steel ladder, a dimly-lit sandstone corridor extended in two opposite directions. Neji focused his Byakugan harder in the darker environment, evaluating which way was best to move. The left hand hallway led to a sloping stairwell that would take them deeper underground, where it was more likely that a prisoner could be securely held. The right hand path split off in multiple directions; east, west, northwest, and down.

Well-aware that either or both ways could hold doom for the teams, Neji motioned for Shino to take the left path. Shino gave a quick nod and lead Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura down the stairs with him, being silent as only well-trained shinobi could be silent—even Naruto was quiet, though his body and movements were full of anxious intensity.

_Well, _Neji mused, _It has started..._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Naruto followed Shino down the stairway, Sakura at his back and Hinata close at his side. This was the formation that they had agreed upon beforehand, and all agreed that it was well-adjusted to the current close quarters. Being at the front, Shino could use his insects to detect traps and patrols before they became a problem. Naruto, in the middle, could give support in all directions from his current position, and being next to Hinata gave him easy access to additional power via Synchronization, should he need it. Hinata's position enabled her in much the same way while allowing her to keep the entire group in sight. Sakura, being the valuable medic, was in the rear.

The stairs took them several stories below before it stopped descending and opened into a curved hallway, this one walled with packed dirt and stone and looking oddly like a mine shaft. Shino had his bugs check out of sight. A moment later, he signaled to the team with a cautioning gesture, indicating that there were enemies nearby. Soon after, the team could hear footsteps.

Naruto's Ghostly Arms snaked out of their tenketsus, and a number of them reached forward invisibly, forming a thin seal visible only to special eyes like the Byakugan. When it was finished, Naruto nodded to Shino, who took a step back. He did so just in time to see the patrolling henchman round the corner.

The trap seal went off immediately, blasting the floor in a short radius with ice and freezing him in place. A look of shock and hatred crossed the enemy's face, and that face's mouth opened to scream alarm. Shino's bugs muffled all sound that would have come from him, though, preventing their discovery. Finally, to prevent further resistance, Hinata stepped forward, immediately sealing all of his chakra circulation in the amount of time it would have taken to swat a fly. The insects released the man's face, and he fell silent to the ground as the ice beneath him crumbled.

Sakura bent down to check him. He was still conscious; in a few minutes, he might be able to find the strength to move or to call out. More preventative measures were called for. Swiftly, the medic drew a needle and syringe from her gear bag and injected a clear fluid into his arm. In an instant, the enemy was asleep.

Shino nodded, satisfied that the danger was passed, and lead the team onward. If they managed to deal with other patrols this swiftly, they would be in minimal danger for some time.

"Heh," Naruto whispered under his breath to Hinata, "This might just be a cakewalk after all. Haruka-neechan will be surprised when we waltz into her on the front lines again with Niichan..."

"Naruto," Shino whispered sternly, "Your orders are to be silent."

Naruto shut up and reached into his bag, bringing out his canteen for a quick drink. When Shino's back was turned, he stuck his tongue out at him. Hinata saw, and stifled a laugh. She knew that Shino's serious attitude was right, however, and she reached out to pinch his arm, reminding him that this was a mission.

However, Naruto seemed to be occupied with something else. His hand had gone back into his bag to deposit the canteen again and had not come out. An expression of mixed concentration and worry had formed on his face.

_It's not here! _Naruto thought. _Haruka-neechan's prank statue isn't here!_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Hachoo!" _Someone must be thinking about me..._

"Got the sniffles, partner?" Keisuke asked from his seat against the wall. "Don't tell me there actually _was_ poison in that water?"

"No," Haruka replied, wiping her nose. "The only problem is you having to stop and rest. Or is it to test your new peepers on me, sukebe-Keisuke?" She turned to look wickedly at him, arching her back and raising her arms over her head, creating a powerful illusion of seduction.

Keisuke's blue pupils did indeed gravitate towards her at every opportunity, almost regardless of what he wanted them to do. They seemed to have a mind of their own. Not that the once-blind man was bothered by it; he was so enamored with the brilliance of the new sensory input—particularly that depicting the lovely Haruka in her dirty skin and ripped clothes—that he hardly cared that she kept catching him at it.

"Well, if you would stop presenting such a target," he said gruffly, "I might be less inclined to 'test' them on you. It's not very polite to tease an old man who's never seen anything, you know."

"Hah," Haruka laughed, "Old man? You're centuries older than me, but you have the sexual maturity of a teenager. You're lucky I haven't smacked some sense into you yet."

"As no doubt you will soon do," Keisuke mumbled under his breath. He thought he saw Haruka smirk. "Anyway, I think I've rested enough. Where do we go now?"

"I don't see how it matters," was Haruka's reply. "We've already fought off about twelve patrols. We're bound to run into a recapture team soon, whichever way we go. I hope you've saved up some strength, because I can only spare so much."

That comment was extremely relevant. Haruka had had to bolster Keisuke's chakra with her own through the Synchronization technique twice now, in spite of his consumption of soldier pills; most of the extra chakra that the medicine generated went into healing. Keisuke could still fight, but doing so was costly if it went on too long, and he would be forced to take another dosage.

"I'll be all right," Keisuke assured. "See if you can find us someplace that _won't_ dead-end on us this time."

Haruka looked at him with a slight expression of venom, but grunted affirmative. He was right, after all, since her Byakugan had been unable to find any path that did not somehow close up before they reached it. She was beginning to think that their captors were playing with them, and that made her angry.

"This way," she said, jerking her head to their left and snapping her Byakugan off.

They moved as fast as Keisuke's healing body would comfortably allow in that direction, up several stairwells. As they went up, the facility began to change around them; the quality of the air became better, and the floor and walls changed from damp stone to dry packed dirt supported by metal beams.

"Found something else to stare at, I see," said Haruka, looking over her shoulder with an evil smirk.

"Would you rather I have your backside imprinted on my cornea?" Keisuke asked, at which his partner simply laughed. "It feels like we're much closer to the surface now," he continued, grinning. "I was thinking that maybe that Byakugan wasn't such a bad thing for me to have sired after all. Or at least, _you_ weren't so usele... is that light ahead?"

Haruka's head whipped from him to directly in front of her almost too quickly to see. "It is!" she exclaimed. "Thank the gods, thank the Great Fa... er, you! We're getting out of this hell hole!" She started hurrying faster up the earthen hallway, excitement getting the better of her judgement.

"Watch yourself," Keisuke said. "There might be a welcoming party on the other side. There was one the last time I broke out of Orochimaru's place."

Her partner's warning caused her to hesitate. She thought about turning on her Byakugan, the veins barely standing out on her temples, but decided against it. Keisuke observed her, wondering what she was thinking. He didn't wait long, though, for she soon turned her head towards him again, smiling with confident battle-lust. He felt a shiver run down his spine; this was his partner, the Sadistic Haruka whom he loved, in her element.

"I'll let them surprise me," she said. "No matter what the hell it is, you and me are going to bust through it like bats out of hell, Keisuke. You with me?"

How could he not be?

"Yeah," he said. "You know I wouldn't miss it, partner. Together, then?"

Haruka's only reply was to grin wider and take off running again. He followed after her long, dark braid as it whipped in the air behind her, as fast as he could manage. After a while, she slowed down to match his pace, and they ran side-by-side towards the light ahead of them. The Arms of the Rokujuuyon Reiude moved of their own volition, establishing Keisuke's connection to his partner with the ease of long-practiced routine.

_Charging into deadly battle together as one entity, _Keisuke thought. _I never realized how much I missed that thrill. _At that moment, they reached the light, and rushed through the opening into the waiting wide open air...

To discover that they were not quite free yet. They now found themselves in what looked like a large arena or stadium; it was wide and domed, and was very well-lit from an electric source. Where the generator for the power was, they could only guess, but it would explain why the routes Haruka had picked before had closed on them, since such a generator would power cameras, as well. The only difference between this chamber and a stadium was the absence of seats for onlookers.

"What is _this?"_ Haruka said, staring around her. Keisuke heard disappointment in her voice, and knew it was because she had been deprived of her deadly struggle. He thought, however, that she wouldn't be deprived much longer. The door slammed shut behind them, locking them in.

"My guess would be a trap," Keisuke said. "This is probably where that recapture team you wanted will show up, once they figure out we sprung it. Are you happy?"

"That they'll finally stop toying and come up for us? Yeah. That they're expecting us to just sit here and wait while they get their fat asses ready? No way." She huffed as she took a seat on the dirt floor.

Keisuke maintained the Synch, and reached into his last functional pocket for a soldier pill. He had only two left, but now was as good a time as any to use it, seeing as they were about to be swarmed with enemies. Popping it into his mouth and swallowing it dry, he sat down with her, and they used each other's backs to prop each other up.

"Be patient," he reassured her. "They'll be up before you know it."

"They'd better be," she puffed. "I'm sick of all this dismal waiting. One way or another, I want to fight this out now."

Keisuke laughed, the sound deep and reverberating in the open air. His smile was wider than it had been in days

"Glad to have you back, Sadist. I missed you."

"I know," she said, reaching behind her to squeeze his hand. "And I'll never lose track of my favorite target again. I'll kill these freaks before I let them have you a third time, and if that doesn't work out, I'll kill you."

To his own surprise, Keisuke found that comment reassuring. "Thanks," he said. "I think I'd rather die than keep living like that anyway."

On that note, they sat quietly in the brightness of the high dome, waiting for their final challenge to come and test them.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Shino's party faced the same minimal resistance as they trudged through the dirty, winding shaft, wondering when it would end. Their walk continued for three long minutes without any forks, descent, or ascent. Whenever they encountered a guard or a patrol unit, there was only one or two enemies at most, and not all of them were shinobi, even; many of them were scientists or technicians.

_So it seems that Orochimaru has a full laboratory facility here,_ Shino thought. _It is located where no one would bother to look for it, that is for certain. It would be difficult to determine how long ago he began operating here, as well. This could mean there are many more tricks and traps hidden within than we originally guessed._

Yet they had encountered none of those traps just yet. Something wasn't right about that, to Shino. Was this facility really that new, or had the traps been purposefully deactivated, trying to lure them into a false sense of security so that they would be lured into a greater trap?

Lost in these thoughts, Shino barely heard the warning screech from his bugs in time. He turned just as the tentacle-like vines burst out of the ceiling and made a grab for his comrades behind him. They were lightning-quick, faster than they had ever been before, and Shino had just enough time to throw himself into Naruto and knock him out of the way before they reached him. The bugs slammed as a single force into Hinata and Sakura, pushing them away.

Deprived of other targets—or perhaps having attacked other targets initially to snare their real objective—the thick plants wrapped themselves around Shino, constricting him until he could not move, and began to draw him up into the ceiling where they had come from. The insects swarmed after their master, attacking the vines that bound him with all their power. The vines were thicker than before, though, and did not give as they hauled up their prize. In moments, Shino's lower legs had disappeared into the dirt, which had amazingly softened to a gelatinous quality.

Naruto was the first to regain his composure, and was on his feet in an instant. "Oi, you stupid vines!" he yelled, setting chakra swirling in his palm. "You damned mud hole! Let him go, or I'll blast you to pieces!"

"Shino-kun!" Hinata gasped. How had she not seen _this_ coming? She looked above her, trying to see past the earth in the ceiling, and was shocked to discover that she could not. It was completely obscured by some force she could not define.

"Naruto, Hinata, Sakura!" Shino said, a commanding tone in his voice. "Follow your orders. You must be silent, and not draw the entire fortress to you." He was being absorbed into the ceiling fast, up to his waist now, and though the bugs had now chewed through the vines completely, the gelatinous mud still held fast to him.

"You want us to just let you go?" Sakura asked.

"Let him go?" Naruto echoed, the Rasengan complete. He began adding wind manipulation to it, and it glowed with intensity as the change was slowly made. "Of course we won't! I won't let another person get taken the way Keisu..."

"Naruto!" Shino commanded, his bugs withdrawing into his clothes, "I am already caught. This must be my fight. Now, follow my orders, and continue the rescue mission without me. If I survive, I will find you later."

Naruto let his Futon: Rasengan blow out, incomplete, as he stared in disbelief at Shino. He remembered, a long time ago, how Chouji, Neji, Kiba, and Shikamaru had all done the exact same thing, occupying an enemy so that he could go on, attempting to reclaim their lost comrade. That time, the mission had failed. Would it be a repeat of last time?

It turned out he did not have a choice in the matter, for Shino's head was absorbed into the muck before he could argue. The dirt solidified behind him, cutting off all chance of recovery.

"Damn it," Naruto said. _I knew it. The statue being gone was a bad omen..._

"Naruto, Hinata," Sakura said, putting a hand on her blond teammate's shoulder. "There's nothing we can do about it now..."

"I know," Naruto said. "We have to keep going. Come on, let's get away from this place..."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

It felt as though he were suffocating, but Shino knew it would not last. The enemy above would not let him die this way. Not after the way the battle had ended the last time. She would want to fight again in the same way: fairly and with no unfair advantages. Therefore he held his breath, commanded the insects to remain safely inside of him, and waited.

Sure enough, he was greeted with solid ground and air in very short order. He stood up, meaning to dust the mud from himself, only to find that it slid off of him like water, returning to the floor where it lay dry and flat as the ceiling from which the vines had sprung.

However, the bug user wasted no time marveling over this wondrous soil. He scoured his surroundings with his eyes, looking for his opponent. He took careful note of the chamber around him, of its perfect roundness, of the unsupported soil of which it was entirely made, of the softly glowing plants which were rooted in the walls and ceiling, and of the utter lack of any sort of harmful bloom mounting a preemptive strike. Then at last, he located his enemy.

She stood erect and calm as she always had, still without her cloak, but allowing the darkness of the room to cloak her. No vines or needlers snaked out from beneath the clothing when he turned to face her. She waited patiently for him to acknowledge her presence verbally. After being totally sure that she meant to fight with the same fairness, Shino obliged her.

"I had not thought that you would ally yourself with Orochimaru," he said. "The Kumo have even attacked Orochimaru's allies in this war. Do you truly fight for your village, or for your own aims, as Uchiha Sasuke does?"

"Would it surprise you, Aburame Shino, if I told you that I do not know exactly why I am fighting anymore?" she asked him.

Shino thought a moment before replying, "No, it would not. War changes people in many ways, as I have recently experienced for myself. My own teammate, Kiba, for example, now has a disdain for fighting in cities and towns that he has never expressed before. Uzumaki Naruto was unlike himself for a period of time, until Hinata helped him. It would not be at all unusual, then, for your opinions to change."

Ayaka stood and pondered his words. Silence stretched between them in which Shino thought he might have made an impact on his enemy, despite knowing that she would have guarded herself against psychological warfare. Neither of them moved for a period of time that went unmeasured.

Finally, however, she answered him. "I believe I understand what you mean to say. What I thought I was fighting for turned out to be much different from reality. One thing is certain, however: I still wish to resolve our conflict."

Shino had thought she would. He took a fighting posture, and ordered his bugs to make ready. "Then come," he said. "I will not run or hide, and neither will you, this time."

Ayaka gave a curt nod as she flipped through her opening set of seals, making needler flowers rise up around her. "No," she agreed, "I will not."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The shadows favored Neji and Kiba well. Their chosen path was lighted only with the dimmest of torches, and the dirt floors absorbed the impact that their feet made upon them. They were able to hide from enemy patrols—usually a formation of three to five armed guards—with relative ease because of this. The fact that there were only two of them to hide was also beneficial.

Neji's Byakugan peered around them, searching for signs of anything of interest, and the air, much cleaner and fresher than in the wasteland above, allowed Kiba's nose to easily detect incoming enemies. Using these talents to their fullest, they made their way deep into the facility. Their search of the western and northwestern wings yielded nothing that they could have made use of; the former was quarters for the guards and the other facility staff and the latter turned out to be incomplete construction.

When they slipped silently past another guard station into the eastern wing, however, they began to notice more functional areas. There they found a small hospital, some storage areas filled with chemicals and medical supplies, and hangars for heavy machinery. Searching deeper, they found something even better than that, something which truly said that they had found a useful path; one corridor was lined with medical, mechanical, and chemical laboratories.

_Where there are laboratories,_ Neji knew, _there must be a scientific database. _

They continued onward, searching for that database and the plans that might be held within it. Neji knew that they were approaching it, too, for as they crept further and further into the east wing, the patrols that they encountered became more and more frequent. They also increased in size, making it somewhat harder to slip by unnoticed. Kiba almost was seen twice before Neji finally located a small room which housed several large computers and a man and woman in technician's coats.

The Hyuuga Jounin made motions with his hands, telling Kiba which door he wanted, how many enemies were within, and then signaled that the enemies were non-combatants, which he knew Kiba would appreciate; the wild nin's compassion for civilians would probably not go away for a long time.

The next moment, the two of them were through the door—which they were pleasantly surprised to discover had carelessly been left unlocked—and had knocked out the soft targets inside. They closed the door behind them, taking the keys from the woman's coat and locking it as it should have been.

"Phew," Kiba said when they were safely locked in. "I was sure that I'd gotten us caught back there."

"Don't linger on that thought," Neji ordered. "Be focused on the mission. Do you know anything about computers?"

"Not a damned thing," Kiba admitted.

"Look on some of the screens and see if you find anything interesting," Neji instructed. "Don't touch anything that you aren't sure about."

Kiba hesitated. "Damn... If I didn't know you could whip me in a heartbeat, I might complain. Seriously, sending a dog to do a nerd's work..."

He gave up and began peering into the nearest screen while Neji sat at one of the consoles, punching keys. Apparently, the Hyuuga genius did know a thing or two about these machines; perhaps Kiba would ask him where he could get a crash-course on it later.

"Let's see," the wild nin started. "This one says, 'prognosis ready, hit any key...' which one's the..."

"Let me see it," Neji ordered. Kiba jumped out of his way as he came over an quickly tapped the key marked, 'enter.' The message Kiba had read disappeared, replaced by a diagram and a large statistical readout. Kiba couldn't make sense of the numbers, but he looked at the diagram, he was surprised to see a familiar figure spread across it. It was different in many ways, but it was still recognizable.

"Hey," Kiba said. "Isn't that...?"

"Yes," Neji confirmed. "It seems they were not working for who we thought they were."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura hurried full-speed through the dirt hall, quickly dispatching all the enemies that got in their way. There weren't many of them, and they fell easily, even without Shino's aid. The nervousness and anxiety that had infected the bug user was beginning to infect them, as well.

"They already know we're here," Naruto said, throwing caution, as well as Neji's order of silence, to the winds. "We've gotta hurry, now, or we'll lose Keisuke _and _Shino."

"Can we really search the entire place that fast?" Sakura asked. "With Kiba and Neji, we might, but without them, without the advantage of surprise..."

"We don't have any choice," Naruto growled.

He received no arguments to that declaration. They ran wordlessly through the twisting tunnel, the only noises being those of their lungs sucking in air. Eventually, even the patrols stopped coming.

At last, Hinata's voice spoke up from the quiet. "The path splits into two ahead," she announced. "Both of them lead further down into the ground. Which one are we going to take?"

"Both of them," Naruto said. Without waiting to be asked how they would safely accomplish that feat, he ran his hands through seals, molding his chakra in preparation. Boar, dog, bird, monkey, sheep...

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"**

Hopping alongside them suddenly, emerging from puffs of smoky gray, were two frogs nearly the size of Naruto himself. One of them had skin that was colored deep red and very warty. The other frog was light yellow and smoother. Both of them kept up with their human counterparts easily, and both of them wore dark cloaks around their necks with the crest of the Frog Boss embroidered upon them.

"Gamakichi, Gamatatsu!" Naruto told them quickly, "Go with Sakura-chan down the left fork, there, and guard her with your lives! Me and Hinata are gonna take the right one!"

"Geez," said the red toad, Gamakichi, "You sure are bossy these days, Naruto. Oyajii isn't going to be happy, bringing me to all these dangerous places."

"I know, I know," Naruto said. "It's really important, though. Tell Gama-Oyabun I'll compensate him later. Thanks a lot!"

And with that, they reached the fork, the two groups splitting off to search the different directions before anyone but Naruto really registered what was going on. One thing was for sure; the energetic blond was definitely fired up and in a hurry.

"Famn, frog," Gamakichi said to his brother and the human girl he was protecting, "I know it's Naruto we're talking about here, but he's really getting to be over the top. How the hell does he plan to compensate for this? I was having a really nice bath, you know..."

"I'm not really sure either," Sakura told the frog, "But he's been on edge for a while now, and he just watched another of his friends get taken away, even if it might only be for a while. Now, he has the chance to get one of them back, and he's probably clinging to that chance with all he has."

"Again?" Gamakichi asked. "Geez, frog, he really needs to learn to keep a handle on his friends. First that Sasuke character and now this! He's letting them disappear like his ramen noodles!"

"Noodles?" Gamatatsu asked, turning his head to look gluttonously at his brother. The yellow frog was hungry as usual; he wanted to know where he could get some tasty noodles. Unfortunately, looking at his red brother meant that he was no longer watching where he was going, which led him to fall easy prey to the trap that lay waiting.

Before Sakura or Gamakichi could warn him, his rear right leg landed squarely on the loose mound of dirt beneath which the trigger was hidden. The floor beneath them, which was actually a gigantic trap door, opened downward, and gravity seized them all in mid-stride.

"Gamatatsu, you dope!" yelled Gamakichi.

"Wheee!" was the yellow frog's reply as they began falling.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hinata followed Naruto as he charged down his path, descending deeper into the earth. The hallway around them morphed as they progressed, changing from dirt and steel supports to flat, undecorated stone lit dimly by torchlight. Naruto squinted, trying to make his eyes adjust to the lower light level before they were ready, and was forced to slow down.

"Damn it," he said, "It's too dark. I can't see that far ahead."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata interrupted, "There isn't very much to see. This path is a dead end."

Naruto stopped running a mere twenty meters from the solid stone wall in front of him and peered harder. His eyes adjusted to see that she was right. He walked up to it, pushing on it to see if there were any hidden catches or mechanisms. He found nothing, and turned to the Hyuuga girl.

"Can you see anything?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "The walls around us are all solid rock. I can't see anything hidden behind it but stone and dirt."

Naruto stared at her with a strange look on his face. Hinata struggled to make sense of it. _Is that, _she wondered, _ his pleading face?_

"Are you sure?" he asked her. "You couldn't see the thing that grabbed Shino, before. Can you check one more time?"

Hinata didn't see how it would help; even if the same force that had blocked her sight of Shino's attacker was at work here, she had no way of knowing how to counter it. Still, she couldn't think of any reason not to check, and since Naruto seemed insistent, she refocused her Byakugan and looked again.

She fought to keep from gaping in surprise; as she swept her eyes to the right, a mechanism blatantly revealed itself to her, as though it had been hiding and had only now decided to come out. Wondering what was going on, she moved over to inspect it from a closer distance.

"Did you find something?" Naruto asked, his face suddenly hopeful.

"I think..."

Before Hinata finished her sentence, before she could even get her hand through the hidden panel into the mechanism, a huge grinding and whirring disrupted her. The whole corridor began to shake, and she stumbled backwards into Naruto, who like a domino fell against the back wall. They watched in awe as a whole great slab of the stone wall across from them slid loudly into the floor. When it was done, they stood like statues, almost expecting hell itself to come spewing out of the opening.

But nothing emerged from the darkness beyond the opening.

"Well," Naruto said, pushing off the wall, "I guess this means an invitation to go in."

Knowing it was more than likely a trap, Hinata followed him as he crossed the stone hall into the pitch blackness of the room before them. Neither she nor Naruto showed any surprise when the wall panel slammed back up behind them again, locking them in darkness so deep that even her Byakugan could not penetrate it. She felt Naruto's Reiude brush up against the openings in her chakra circulatory system, asking for entrance, and she let them in gladly; in this all-consuming dark, the feelers that Naruto had learned to use from Keisuke were as close to vision as they would get.

They walked cautiously and close to each other, feeling around them for their surroundings and any enemies that might be lurking nearby. All that the Ghostly Arms could pick up so far, however, was the floor. Apparently, they were in a very large room. Hinata felt herself growing tense; she felt naked and exposed in all that open space without her eyes to guide her. Naruto sensed her nervousness through their Synchronization, and sent a warm pulse of chakra her way.

"Relax," he said. "If even you can't see, they probably can't see, either."

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you," drawled a voice from all around them, echoing in the wide space. "But you're right; I can't see you. We can fix that, easily enough, though..."

Suddenly, the chamber was no longer dark. Electric light began dancing and sparking along the walls, ceiling, and floor—raw electricity, moving in multicolored bolts all around the room. Naruto and Hinata could see that they jumped between paper tags that were stuck at intervals all around the room. Suddenly, Hinata had a very good idea of what it was that threatened them.

"Are you scared, you little Hyuuga bitch?" the voice asked, ringing out from all directions again. "You should be. Your dark little friend got me good back there, but he didn't finish me off. This time, he won't be here to save you, and neither will your animal friends with the good noses..."

"You're not scaring anyone, you dick!" Naruto shouted back. "Show your ugly face before I start blowing things up to find you!"

"Show myself?" said the voice of Hikaru, the electricity becoming more intense as he spoke. "Hardly necessary. I'll have fun killing you in front of your tramp, loud-mouthed blondie."

Lightning burnt the very air as it arced its way toward Naruto. The unseen enemy, determined to have vengeance for its prior losses, would hear no pleas for mercy.

Naruto, determined to protect Hinata and save his lost friends, would give none.

OoOoOoOo Big Blinking Cliffhanger no Jutsu! End Chapter Sixteen oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **The simple rescue and recon mission, within minutes of beginning, as already become a horrible battleground that heavily favors the enemy. What will happen to the team, all separated from each other and without the support of Jiraiya or Sasuke?


	19. C17: Tremors

**A/N:** I'm amazed that I've been able to keep up this speed with how 'busy' I've been. I think I may be developing the ability to perform mindless, repetitive tasks and apply myself here at the same time. Either that, or I'm slowly going insane. Anyway, don't leap out of your seats and claw the screen just yet, this party is barely started.

**Chapter Seventeen: Tremors**

"Damn them all," Haruka complained loudly. "They certainly are taking their sweet time! What the hell are they doing down there?"

"Whatever it is, it's good for us," Keisuke answered. "Without having to be constantly moving for a while, the saved energy is doing wonders for my system."

"Not for mine," his partner grumped. "They've already taken long enough to grab two cups of coffee, jog a lap around the Grave, masturbate, and walk from the cell all the way up here."

"You know, they might be doing just that," suggested Keisuke thoughtfully, "To play mind games with you. They probably know how moving at a glacial pace just thrills you."

"Shut up," Haruka snapped. "That isn't funny, nor is it helpful in any... what's that?" The Hyuuga woman's Byakugan flickered on and she stood up abruptly, causing Keisuke, who had been leaning a little too heavily against her, to fall flat on his back.

"Ite!" Keisuke exclaimed. "That's still a little tender back there. What did you do that for?" He picked himself up slowly, noting that the healing had progressed well; his muscles and joints gave him very little pain as they moved. He saw Haruka looking off in one direction and turned to stare that way himself.

"I see something," she told him. "Over there on the ground, can you see that glare? Think it might be a trap or trigger of some kind?"

Needing practice with his new eyes, Keisuke had a difficult time focusing into the distance to see what she was talking about. In a few seconds, though, he found it.

"That light there?" he asked. "What fool would put a lightbulb on the ground, where it could be so easily stepped on?"

Haruka looked at him as if he had just stripped naked and thrown his pants in her face. "_You're_ the idiot," she said. "That's not a lightbulb! It's just a piece of metal that's reflecting other lights. By all that's sinful, those new toys of yours are causing more grief than good. I don't want to know _how_ you're going to handle mirrors..."

"Okay, I get it," Keisuke interrupted, feeling exasperated. "I need more practice. So what is this metal thing, partner? Or do we have to go closer?"

In answer, Haruka walked over to it. It was perhaps fifty yards away, glinting in the dirt at their feet like a mysterious beacon. Neither of them knew how they had failed to notice it before. What was more, as they drew nearer, Keisuke noticed that his partner seemed to grow increasingly curious. What was it that had so captured her attention?

"Weird," she said once they had reached it. "I can't see any traps or anything... maybe somebody just dropped it by accident when they built the place?" She bent down to pick it up—Keisuke fought not to stare too hard at a certain portion of her—and came up holding the piece of metal that had been glinting at them.

It was a small, metal ring. It was argent in color—silver, possibly, or white gold—and into the band were carved old, unreadable sigils and symbols that neither of them could understand. A gem had been socketed into it; a brilliant, hexagonal sapphire reflected Haruka's silver eyes back at her almost like a blue-tinted mirror. She seemed almost transfixed by it, Keisuke realized.

"It looks valuable," he commented. "Somehow I don't think anyone would have just dropped it carelessly and let it go. Are you sure there isn't anything wrong with it?"

"Positive," Haruka affirmed, turning off her Byakugan. "I checked it five times over. No traps, no tampering, no taint. It's completely clean." She continued to stare at it like a hawk watching its prey, though she was apparently still aware of him.

"Too good to be true, almost," Keisuke acknowledged.

She finally removed her eyes from the ring and looked at him, smiling in her sadistic way. "You spineless worm," she said, stepping toward him. "You shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Have a little optimism, will you? At least now we have something pretty to look at... besides my back end, anyway."

Keisuke recoiled a little, realizing that she had caught him staring after all, but once that slight sting of surprise faded, he let himself relax. The thing didn't seem to be affecting her sense of humor, at any rate. That was a good sign. Also, if her Byakugan didn't find anything dangerous about it after checking five times...

"Sorry, you're probably right," he said, sitting down again. "And it does look pretty, I agree."

"I bet you wish you'd found it first," she replied, putting it on her finger with a mischievous expression. "You could have given it to me for an engagement ring."

Keisuke laughed and gave a grin of his own that was part real, part exaggeration. "Engage myself to a hellion like you? You are too amusing; I'd rather elope with a hedgehog, thank you very much."

"Oh, suuuure," Haruka drawled, grinning wider. "Your mouth says that, but I know where you've been looking all damned day. Who's the laughable one?"

Keisuke's reply was put on hold when a small tremor shook the arena and the lights suddenly began flickering. They blinked on and off rapidly for several seconds, and when it stopped, they were not shining as brightly as before.

"What was that?" he wondered.

"Probably those bastards down below playing with the lights to screw with us," Haruka growled.

"That, or somebody's using an absurd amount of power somewhere," Keisuke amended. "Hey... do you think that maybe Naruto's team is here?"

"If they are," Haruka responded, "Then we'll probably be getting a lot worse than that little quake in a while."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Sakura climbed up through the mental blackness that had fallen on her slowly and painfully. She could not remember much of what had happened to her; she could recall Gamatatsu's clumsy mistake, and the fall that came afterward, but memory beyond that point eluded her. Where was she now, and where were the frogs that Naruto had assigned to help her?

She opened her eyes, and immediately had the first question answered for her. The pink-haired medic found herself lying on an operating table, with bright surgeon's lights blaring down on her. Startled, she sat bolt-upright, frantically checking herself for tubes, wires, or incisions, but miraculously finding none. Relief at that realization was brief, however, for what she saw now that she was sitting up quickly brought new discomfort.

The room that she was in was all one gigantic medical laboratory. There were many more tables besides the one that she currently sat on, and almost all of them had something of its own on top of it. Several held large vials of blood and other substances, probably used for chemical tests. Others held apparatuses that Sakura recognized—sterilizers, defibrillators, and the like. Still others held things that she had never seen in her life. The rarest tables held human cadavers, many of them which she discovered, sickeningly, to be open.

One set of tables against the back wall, however, caught and held her attention. They held two huge glass vats of what looked suspiciously like embalming fluid or other preservative substance, lit from their bases by internal lamps. They would not have been so peculiar by themselves, if they hadn't been holding two large frogs inside of them. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu hung suspended in the vats, unmoving, either dead or comatose. She walked slowly over to them, in awe of the animals' plight.

"What could they want with these two?" she wondered aloud.

"Those particular specimens," answered a voice behind her, "Being descended from such a mighty amphibian line, will yield very rare, very potent frog oil, which can have many uses if one possesses the knowledge. It seemed a shame, to me, to waste the chance to harvest it."

Sakura whipped around, an angry look crossing her face. She saw the face and form that she knew belonged to that particular voice. Cunning eyes, a lean build, and white hair pulled back into a short ponytail matched the features of one of Sakura's fellow medical shinobi turned to evil. Kabuto had a smug look on his sharp face, regarding her with a slight pity mixed with enormous triumph.

"Oh, and what were you going to 'harvest' from me, you traitor?" she asked vehemently.

"The usual," answered the evil medic. "I was going to cannibalize all of your usable organs, pack them away in sterile, cold storage. One never knows when they might have need of a spare heart or a kidney. It's a pity that you woke up so soon."

"You could have used a better anesthetic," Sakura said. "Or is it that you were planning to let me wake up first?"

Kabuto's smug expression didn't change as he reached into the pouch strapped to his leg. "You know me too well, Sakura-san," he said. "Of course, I do get bored within my work from time to time. I didn't think you would mind terribly if I asked you to entertain me for a while..."

As he finished saying "while," he drew and threw and handful of long needles in one easy, flowing movement. They flew straight as arrows, one each aimed directly at her heart, liver, neck, forehead, and lungs. A shrill whistle sounded as they sailed towards their targets, splitting the air in their path.

"...Right?" Kabuto said as they impacted.

"I'm not the same useless kunoichi that I was when you last saw me," Sakura said as she dodged quickly to one side. Tsunade had made her practice evasion with such emphasis that even the lightning-quick throws that Kabuto made were ineffective without some way of keeping her still. The closest of his needles missed her by a hair.

Using her momentum, she focused chakra into her hand and punched the nearest table, releasing the chakra upon impact. The table cracked and split apart from the force, and the shockwave carried all the way through to the floor beneath, sending shards of tile and of the table rippling towards Sakura's opponent. "Because of Tsunade-sama, I am much stronger!"

"So I see," Kabuto said, easily leaping to safety atop another table. "But are you skilled enough yet?" He snatched up a vial from next to his foot and lobbed it at her. It hit the spot where Sakura had been only moments before and shattered, releasing a cloud of white vapor as the strong base used for titration ate through the floor.

Sakura dodged forward rather than away, springing for her enemy with knife and shuriken in hand. The shuriken she threw straight for Kabuto, watching to see which way he would move and preparing to strike in that direction.

Kabuto did not dodge, though; his skill was sufficient to deflect them all easily with his own kunai and still parry Sakura's weapon easily as it came up to bisect him. "Apparently not," he decided. "You have improved beyond recognition, but you are still imperfect, Sakura-san." The evil medic swiped at her weapon arm with his free hand. Sakura felt power in it, and knew that he was aiming to sever the tendons in her wrist. She leaped away to avoid it, making seals in midair.

"**Ninpou: Dokugiri!" **(Poison Mist)

Half of the room—the half which Sakura retreated behind—was filled with poisonous smog, preventing Kabuto from following her while simultaneously giving her a cover to hide behind. She ducked behind one of the larger tables to conceal herself from detection. If Kabuto outclassed her in close-quarters and projectile combat, then she would turn it into a stealth game. When the mist cleared, neither opponent could detect the other.

"So, now it's on to hiding, hmm?" Kabuto's voice rang out. "Cowardly, but intelligent. You can't beat me by any other way but surprise."

_There, _Sakura thought, following the sound of the voice to what she hoped was its source. She moved quickly and as quietly as she could until she was two tables away, and then leaped up, slamming her fist down on the return to send another ripple of equipment and floor tile.

Kabuto was not there anymore, however, and Sakura had given her stealth away. More needles flew from the enemy's hidden position, this time even faster than before. They struck Sakura dead-on, hitting at every vital spot. Any human would die from such an accurate attack.

But the human wasn't hit; the form of Sakura disappeared, replaced at each "vital spot" by a vial from a nearby table. Sakura had executed a perfect multiple replacement technique, regaining her stealth as quickly as she had lost it. Now it was Kabuto's stealth that was compromised.

"Oh?" Kabuto said, smiling. "Quite good, Sakura-san."

"Good enough yet?" Sakura asked, appearing inches from his back. Her kunai plunged into his heart, and her eyes were bright with victory.

The knife, however, did not strike flesh. It continued through Kabuto's body as though it were air, and Sakura's momentum carried her along with it.

_Just a bunshin? _Sakura thought. _But then, I've revealed myself again..._

Very suddenly, the arm holding the kunai was shot through with pain, and in the next second it went limp, the tendons in the upper arm cut. In horror, she realized that her forward thrust had left that arm exposed, and Kabuto, who had been waiting close by his clone, had capitalized on that. She jumped away quickly before the evil medic could cut any more, landing near the vats that held the motionless frogs.

"That was careless of you," Kabuto said. "I know there is more to your skill than that, Sakura-san. Heal that arm and come again... I haven't enjoyed myself this much in a long time."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hikaru had turned the room where his prey stood into an electric hell-storm. The tags spaced along the walls spat lightning at his will, making the air burn until it was rank with the smell of melted circuitry. The attacks came with such blinding rapidity and in such great numbers that it was all that Naruto and Hinata could do to dodge them all. As soon as they had evaded one, the Reiude or the Byakugan would detect another preparing to strike from a completely different angle.

And to make matters worse, Hinata's Byakugan still could not see him at all, and Hikaru was evidently quick and clever enough to stay well outside the reach of the Ghostly Arms.

"Hahaha!!" he crowed, his voice echoing as he launched another volley, "Run, run as fast as you can, little mice! You can't dodge them forever! Even if your stamina lasts, this room is sealed, and the lightning will eventually burn away all your oxygen! What will you do then, huh? Huh? HUH?!"

"Damn it," Naruto panted as he twisted to avoid two bolts at once. "How much power does this guy have? Anyone normal would have run out of chakra by now, blasting that much..."

"Naruto-kun, look out!" Hinata cried, barely deflecting a large bolt with a burst of lancing chakra.

"I see it!" Naruto said. Hikaru was striking with four bolts at once, all headed toward him from different directions. **"Futon: Kamisori Kabe no Jutsu!"** The air around him became a slicing gale, and the rapid movement of the air particles excited the flow of electricity between the lightning-spitting tags and their original target, causing the flow to change course. Like a bull aiming for a matador's cape, the bolts all struck and burned the air around Naruto rather than Naruto himself.

"Heh, so you're another wind guy like Kouhei was, huh?" Hikaru growled from wherever he was hiding. "That just makes this even better. Let's see how many you can handle, huh? We'll forget the Hyuuga bitch a while and make this between you and me."

All at once, the attacks stopped coming at Hinata, and Naruto found himself besieged by a flurry of shocks. They came at an alarming rate of what Naruto thought must have been at least eight per second. Within seconds he felt one of them clip his shoulder as his defense was overwhelmed.

"Ugh!" he grunted against the pain. "You haven't got me yet! Haaaa!" The wind picked up intensity as Naruto poured more power into it, and the attacks were pushed back again.

Hinata watched with aw the clash of the two powers, but dared not approach; the lightning and wind, with the intensity at that level, would rip her apart. But she felt the strain on their combined chakra pool, and knew that with the amount of chakra that Hikaru had, the vengeful Cloud nin couldn't possibly keep this up. In fact, he should have run out of chakra already by now...

"Heh, weak! Puny!" Hikaru yelled. "You're not going to hold me back with just that! My power is infinite, now! You're only going to burn up your oxygen faster!"

Hinata and Naruto were both amazed as the lightning attacks suddenly tripled in number. The slicing wind wall was overrun, and Naruto screamed in pain as more than one hundred bolts of electricity cut into him simultaneously, knocking him to the floor.

"That'll teach you!" Hikaru yelled from his invisible perch. He watched as Naruto struggled to stand. "Still alive, huh? We'll take care of that..." His tags charged full of power again, preparing to strike a death blow against the orange-wearing blond.

When Hinata rushed to take Naruto's defense, however, he delayed the strike. "Oh, this is too good," he laughed. "She's actually going to die to delay the inevitable. This is wonderful..."

"I will not die!" Hinata yelled. "You will not kill either of us while I am standing! Neither of us knows how to give up!"

That only made Hikaru laugh harder. "What can you do, Hyuuga? You've seen what I did to your little blond lover-boy there. We both know that your defenses are no better against that level of attack. You might as well learn to give up now, while you still have a chance."

"I'm not going to take back my words," Hinata said firmly. Her white eyes pulsed with almost alien tenacity, showing no fear. She would do whatever it took to protect Naruto until he recovered, and win.

"Suit yourself," Hikaru said, his laughter finally subsiding. "You're stubborn, I'll give you that. It was a pleasure destroying you. Now die!" The lightning lashed out even heavier than before, one hundred strikes of electrical dynamite...

"**Shugo Hakke,"** Hinata cried, taking a low stance she had not used since the development of this technique, **"Hyakunijuuhachi Sho!" **(One-hundred twenty-eight Hands)

Light so strong as to be migraine-inducing flashed in the air, extending in straight lances from Hinata's palms. They formed a grid so tight and so quick-shifting that the lightning experienced something akin to what a man would experience running into a brick wall. The bolts lashed away from the grid, completely repelled, to either fizzle out in the air or to strike the next best thing: the tags from which they had come from.

Seeing his lightning-spitters start to burn, Hikaru called off the attack. Out of danger, Hinata also stopped, and began gasping for breath; that version of the Shugo Hakke consumed a huge amount of energy. The Synchronization would feed her replacement chakra, but that would not help the soreness of her muscles, which she almost never forced to move that fast.

"So, it's a stalemate now, is it?" Hikaru mused. "I can't get past that defense of yours without hurting my offensive power, and neither of you can find me. At this rate, the only sure way for me to win is to wait for your oxygen to run out, and that's slow and boring, no fun at all..."

"Then quit skulking around and show your ugly face, you coward!" Naruto yelled, finally picking himself up. His clothes were blackened in places, and Hinata was certain that there would be blisters underneath them. However, she felt a surge of power flood through her from his end; he was employing the chakra of the Kyuubi to heal himself and replenish his power. She grew somewhat worried—their experiences with Kyuubi had not been pleasant, recently—but he apparently had good control of it, and so she chose not to linger on those thoughts.

Hikaru did not say anything for a long moment. He seemed to be considering.

"Well?" Naruto said, impatient for an answer.

"I guess it can't hurt that much," the enemy said. "At least it'll be fun to see your reactions. You want to see me? Feast your eyes on this!"

A flash in their peripheral vision indicated where Hikaru was as the light-jutsu stealth was canceled. Naruto and Hinata turned to get a better look at their enemy, hoping to see what it was that had made him so troublesome.

The sight that greeted them made Naruto's jaw drop and Hinata recoil in horror.

Hikaru was still human—he had two legs, two arms, a core and a head—but there was so much attached to that human frame that it seemed they were looking at something out of a terrible movie. His wounded upper left arm had been encased in a metal shell, from which protruded numerous thick wires that ran into the wall. From what they could see, the wires looked as though they could extend several meters out from the wall, and with the stealth jutsu gone, a long track was visible that ran in a circuit around the room, to which the wires were affixed by a small trolley, which accounted for his freedom of movement. He also wore an oxygen mask on his face, the air tube running from it into the wall to join the wires.

"Elaborate, isn't it?" he said. "They had this place made ready for me overnight. Wires that lead all over the facility, extending my stealth range, and my own generator so that I can use as much power as I like. Not bad, for a band of shinobi that's supposed to be wiped out."

He grinned evilly at Hinata for a moment, and then he reactivated his stealth jutsu, disappearing into the burning air.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Shino's second battle with the Ibara prodigy began in much the same way as the first. Needles laden with deadly poison flew from their blooms at him, necessitating guard or evasion. They were quick; Shino managed to avoid the darts, but a number of them grazed his jacket and he could hear at least one whistle right by his head.

Vines whipped forward from around Ayaka's feet, trying to trip him up as they had before. Bugs attacked these vines, intent on preventing any possibility of the like. Their master easily dodged the plants that they laid siege to, freeing him to evade the second wave of vines with less worry.

Immediately, Shino could spot differences between this battle and their last. Firstly, they were in a more enclosed area, which meant less room for both him and the plants to maneuver in and, while it may not have given either party the advantage, it certainly forced a new level of agility and skill. Second, Ayaka's plants appeared to be much stronger and much faster than before, and oddly enough, she had made them so apparently without sunlight. While this fit Shino's memory, it did not make sense for the plants themselves.

"How did you cause the plants to grow so strongly below the ground?" he asked as he came down from one leap over a massive vine and twisted around a volley of darts. "Is it the quality of the soil that does this to them?"

"Partially," Ayaka admitted. "But it is largely possible because the varieties of plants that I use for combat do not need sunlight and photosynthesis to survive; they are all carnivorous. The last of the Sound, which Orochimaru called here after their last defeat, have provided very well for them..."

Graphic images of plants tearing animals and possibly humans apart and then eating them found their way to the forefront of Shino's brain. Unfortunately, the middle of a fight was as bad a place for having such thoughts as it was for staring at women in form-fitting battle suits. The vines were nearly upon him from behind before his insects intercepted the attack, and even with their defense he barely registered them in time to get away.

At this point, however, Shino noticed a third—and very important—difference between this battle and the last. Ayaka was not using her insect-killing, paralyzing poison at all. She had no cloak in which to hide any of the seeds for them, and neither he nor his insects could detect any sign of the mature plants anywhere.

_It must be because of the enclosed space, _he realized, ducking under another vine. _If she uses the gas in this place, it will not dissipate into the open air as it did before, and it is likely that she would also be affected. This changes the battle dramatically._

Indeed it did. Shino had withheld from attacking the needle plants, which stood behind his opponent, for fear of that very kind of defense. Now realizing that there would be no such retaliation, he summoned his insects to attack the needlers without mercy. They swarmed forward eagerly, diving into the fleshy stems with primal fury. In moments, the dart-spitting flora had crumpled to the ground.

Seeing her needlers die, Ayaka's attention was momentarily diverted from commanding her tangler vines, enabling Shino to evade them even more easily. Meanwhile, the bugs, having finished with the living projectile weapons, turned on Ayaka herself. Shino joined them, attacking with a kunai at her momentarily exposed back. Though she parried and managed to get into a position to fight back, the bugs attached themselves to her and began feeding on her chakra.

The battle was now turned heavily in Shino's favor, all because of the enclosed space.

"So," Ayaka said, straining to hold back his knife under pressure, "You have realized my disadvantage in this place. You can no longer say that I fight unfairly, Aburame Shino." She reached with her free hand into a pouch at her waist, and flicked a handful of powder into his face. Though his jacket and sunglasses shielded him from the initial impact, the white, pepper-smelling stuff was potent; it puffed and expanded to fill the air all around him, and that air flowed behind his glasses anyway, causing his eyes to become terribly irritated. Ayaka broke free of him in his confusion and fled both him and his insects.

It became a battle of mobility from thereafter. Shino would attack with his bugs and Ayaka with her vines, each proving too nimble for the other's attack every time. The Ibara's resolve seemed to reinforce her, and her plants attacked with even greater strength and speed than before, forcing the bug user to use all of his available energy and attention to dodge them and leaving great long gouges in the dirt floor.

Shino was still in possession of an advantage, however. As long as he could keep this up, his insects would continue to chip slowly away at Ayaka and her vines until she either ran out of weapons or lost all of her chakra. All he had to do was keep moving with enough speed and skill, and victory would be only a matter of time.

At least, that was what he planned. The plant user still had some tricks up her tight-fitting sleeves, apparently. For while he was occupied with evading the vines, he failed to notice the danger forming behind him. When all was ready, the vines—which had been keeping him away from that corner of the enclosure at Ayaka's command, waiting for the right moment—maneuvered him into the soft, cement-like ground that had formed there. Too late, Shino stepped into it, and the mud immediately re-solidified, locking him in place.

"Earth-mover plants," Ayaka explained, "Trap their food by secreting an enzyme that will turn ordinary ground into a sinkhole. Prey that are not quick enough to escape before the second enzyme, which hardens the ground to a solidity even greater than the original factor, are consumed slowly over the period of several weeks. You need not worry about starving to death, however, Aburame Shino."

She molded her chakra, freed from the bugs who were now busy trying to free their master, and caused the entire chamber to rumble. Shino looked left, right, and behind, searching for the source of the tremor, but it was not until dirt fell onto his head and he looked above that he knew the source of his danger. From the ceiling had emerged a ball of vines, from which were suspended many large, dark purple, blotchy fruits.

"To an honorable man, I give an honorable death," Ayaka continued. "The same plants that produce the paralyzing insecticide in their floral stage develop these fruits as an intermittent stage before moving on to the reproduction. In those fruits, the gas is no longer produced, but has been replaced by a strong acid which both protects the plant and keeps the maturing seeds at a suitable pH."

The fruits certainly did not look healthy. As Shino watched, more and more of them appeared directly above him, hovering suspended but ready to drop like acidic meteors. If the acid was as strong as she professed...

"You will die quickly and relatively painlessly," Ayaka finished. "It has been pleasant to know one such as you. I hope that the rest of your clan will learn from your honorable example. Fare well in the world that comes after, Aburame Shino."

With a wave of her hand, the sickly fruits burst.

OoOoOoOo Multi-Cliffhanger no Jutsu! End Chapter Seventeen oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **Wow, I sure was harsh on the good guys in this chapter. How will they get themselves out of it? Only one way to find out!!


	20. C18: Triumph of Light

**A/N: **Now part two of the triple melee. It's hard to believe that I've come this far in so short a time. It'll be harder to accept the fact of its completion when its all over.

There are some special moments in this chapter. (Sniffling) I'm so proud of Naruto and Hinata. On the other hand, though, I'm having trouble figuring out how to write Sakura's fight, so that will have to wait until next chapter, along with Keisuke and Haruka's fight. Give me a few more days, I'm sure I'll think of something good for both fights.

**Chapter Eighteen: Triumph of Light**

The air in the room was so hot by now that Naruto's lungs were beginning to feel as though they were burning. At least, that was what he believed to be the cause of it. In truth, the burning sensation was due to more than one factor; not only was the air incredibly hot and dry, but its oxygen content was rapidly decreasing due to the repeated lightning blasts that had marked the earlier battle.

_At this rate, _he thought, _we'll either suffocate or get burned to a crisp. _He had already started on the latter option, in fact, and his clothes rubbed painfully against some of the burns inflicted by Hikaru's attack when he moved. Judging by the way his heart and respiration rates were increasing to compensate for the lower intake of precious oxygen, desperately trying to supply him with whatever it could, the former was not far off, either.

Additionally, they also knew the terrible extent to which this Cloud nin would go to kill Hinata. He had been so driven as to ally himself with one of the world's most reviled superpowers and had received the boon of seemingly unlimited power. Hikaru was in command of his own electric generator, which could generate lightning faster and in greater quantity than he ever could on his chakra alone. He was also directly linked to Orochimaru's facility, which gave him oxygen and the ability to use his stealth technique to hide things in other parts of the base. This was why Naruto and Hinata had been unable to detect the danger that had taken Shino. The link to all of it was through his wounded arm, encased in a mechanical shell.

Neither Naruto nor Hinata remained afraid for long, however. As soon as the next bolt struck towards them, they were moving again, and with a new purpose. Hikaru might have beaten them if he had not allowed himself to be goaded by Naruto's words or boredom, but now he had revealed his weaknesses.

"We're gonna cut him off from his power source, Hinata!" Naruto said, dodging around another blast. "Those wires that lead between him and the wall, we could cut those easily!"

Hinata nodded. "Naruto-kun, I can't see him, so you will have to find him for me." She landed lightly on her feet by his side, waiting for him to take the lead.

"Not a problem," he said. "I'll find him and see if I can make him stand still for a while. All you have to do is cut him down. Let's go!"

"HA!" echoed Hikaru's voice, booming over all the other noise in the room. "Like I'll let you catch me, you slow, clunky freak! It's not like you can see me, either."

Naruto grinned as he forced his body to move, leaping out of the middle of the room towards one of the walls. His injuries hurt him and his lungs ached, but there was still plenty of strength left in him. Hinata was being stoic, as well; they would both be fine. This strategy was going to work.

"Stop talking like you're god," he yelled, closing his eyes, "And run for your life, you sneaking coward. We're comin' for you!"

Shutting down his eyes, Naruto was able to let the arms of his Reiude guide him as Keisuke did. Though Hikaru was essentially invisible, he could still be easily detected if one of those arms came into contact with him, and since the Cloud nin had to be near a wall to stay connected to his generator, Naruto and Hinata already had a good idea of where to look. Naruto ran clockwise around the room, hugging the walls and trusting Hinata to guard his back while he devoted his energy to the search.

Hikaru, surprisingly, did not fire off much lightning at them as they ran. Those few bolts that he did throw were easily deflected by defensive bursts of lancing chakra from Hinata's palms and did no harm. The Synch'ed team did not relax their vigilance, but it seemed hardly needed against this minimal offense. They found very little blocking their path.

In fact, they found hardly anything at all, and Hikaru wasn't in the list. His laughter rang out at them as they went. And idea occurred to Hinata.

"Naruto-kun," she said, "Do you think he may be mirroring us?"

"Running the same circle on the other side of the room, laughing at us while we run out of air?" Naruto asked. "So you think so, too, Hinata?"

Hikaru's laughter increased. It took them long enough to catch on!

"Yes," Hinata said. "We should probably use the advantage of our freedom of movement, and try to cut across to where he might be..."

"Even that way," Naruto argued, "He'll still see which way we're cutting, and go off in the opposite direction. We might find him, but it'll take too long. We'd be better off using Kage Bunshin to spread out and find him..."

"But, Naruto-kun," Hinata argued back, "There's so little breatheable air left... can you imagine how much faster it will be gone if there are more of you?"

"More of _me_, huh?" Naruto snapped. "You trying to say I gulp too much of _your_ precious air?"

"Naruto-kun, this is no time to be..."

Hikaru was positively guffawing as he watched this scene unfold. He was laughing too hard to even throw a single bolt of lightning anymore It was better than he had expected! Not only was he running them in circles, but now he had turned them against each other, the fear and desperation that he had inflicted causing them to search for anything, even if it had to be each other, to blame.

_This is too perfect! _Hikaru thought, fighting to keep enough focus to maintain his stealth. He almost stumbled over his own feet for laughing so hard. _At this rate it won't have to be me who strikes the killing bl... What the?!_

There was a loud screech, and then fire suddenly erupted right in front of Hikaru, blazing red-hot and high and threatening to consume him. He had no idea where it had come from, but it was certain that if he stayed near it, the delicate circuitry attached to his arm would not remain stable very long. Reflexes took over, making him leap backwards and away from it...

Right into the waiting arms of Naruto and his shining Nine Tails of Light. Hikaru's arms were seized and pulled behind his back, held in place by Naruto's physical arms, while the Tails held his legs and waist. The Cloud nin was caught and held fast while Hinata approached for the attack that would sever all of his power in one shot.

"Finally caught ya!" Naruto exclaimed in relief. "It was only for a short time, but that charade was hard to keep up. Plain and simple, I just _suck_ at arguing with pretty girls."

"What the hell?!" Hikaru yelled, canceling his stealth. "How the hell did you do that? You can't have figured me out that fast just from seeing me one time!"

"Heh, but it looks like I did!" Naruto gloated. "Normally when I use a trap seal, I have to activate it myself. But the Katon trap is a little different, since it can be lit by pretty much any heat source that's strong enough. So when I saw that track your wires are attached to, I made a little dent in it, so the friction would make sparks and light it up for me when you passed. After that it was just a matter of keeping you distracted, which worked out well enough, I think."

_He thought of all that, and relayed the plan to the Hyuuga without saying a word? _Hikaru thought, amazed and angered. _Just... just how good a team are they?! Ayaka-chan and I could never work that well together, even on our best day! Damnit, these two are making me really pissed! _

When Hinata's hand, filled with the power of Jyuuken and angled like a knife at a person's back, came mere feet from his wires, his anger exploded. Hikaru drew on all of the power that his generator would put out and sent it flailing all around himself, like a hurricane made of electricity rather than air. It made the atmosphere sizzle and burn, made the lights in the room flicker and the ground shake.

Nothing escaped the storm's crackling wrath. Naruto and Hinata were thrown back, landing in seperate heaps across the room. The tags from which the original lightning had spouted were all burned up and rendered useless. Hikaru himself was not unscathed; his own energy backlash caught him in several places, burning and charring his skin. He, however, did not seem to care about the pain that he inflicted on himself. The storm raged around him, the manifestation of his own hate and fury.

"_**You are not leaving here alive, you cocky bastard!" **_he raged. **_ "Neither you nor your Hyuuga whore is getting out of here alive! I'll incinerate you together!!" _**His voice carried the weight of one thousand deaths. This was his last chance for vengeance, and he was dead set on having it. The electrical storm stopped whirling around him abruptly and began focusing itself before him, readying one final, overwhelming bolt of destruction.

Naruto climbed shakily to his feet, seeing death staring him in the face. He was awed at the sheer magnitude of it; the blast would be worthy of Kyuubi himself, were the beast still free! There would be no way that both he and Hinata could survive if they allowed themselves to be hit, and the thing was half the size of the room already. How could they evade a thing like that?

_We can't,_ he realized. _We have to counter it. We have to use _that _jutsu._

He planted his feet against the oncoming storm and concentrated, bringing the Rasengan to life in his hand. Under any normal circumstances, this powerful jutsu could deal with almost any opponent by itself. However, these circumstances were infinitely more dire. Although he had not yet been able to speed up the preparation time anywhere near enough, there was no other option at the moment. Fuuton: Rasengan was the only hope he and Hinata had for survival. With that determination in mind, he began making the change from normal chakra to Wind-nature chakra, slowly and carefully, watching for errors and fighting to retain the chakra again when it got out of line.

But though he had determination, Naruto was missing one thing necessary to complete his jutsu: a brain supplied with oxygen. The fire trap, followed immediately by that immense outburst of lightning, had burned up almost all of the remaining oxygen in the room. Naruto could feel his head growing faint and his heart pounding in his ears like that of a frightened rodent. His concentration wavered, and the jutsu began to fall apart.

_Damn it..._ he thought. _Am I going to let myself die like this? Am I going to let Hinata die like this? _Chakra flared up around him, both his own and Kyuubi's. His determination redoubled, and for a moment longer the jutsu held and made progress.

Kyuubi, however, no matter how much power he had, could not give his host any fresh air. This time, the fox could do nothing to save itself and its container. It's own consciousness was waning along with Naruto's. The Rasengan began to die out again.

"D-Damn it..." Naruto choked. He kept trying with all of his strength, to no avail.

His eyelids began to droop as his awareness slipped away...

"Na... Naruto... kun!" came a gasping voice.

Naruto's eyes snapped back open when he heard Hinata. She was calling for his attention, trying to tell him something! But where was she? Everything was so fuzzy in his vision... _So use the Reiude, dolt, _he told himself. _You're still Synchronized. _

Oh, yeah.

He searched through the connection to access Hinata's senses, and found her. She was standing next to him, and her eyes were fixated on a ball of light held in a hand. The Rasengan! Hinata had her own hands around it now, as though cradling it. When he looked down at them with his own eyes, her gaze flicked to his face, as though trying to say something with her white eyes that her mouth had no breath to say.

_She's retaining the chakra for me, _he realized. _Sharing the work of the preparation so that it will be finished more easily... like back then, when I had to use the bunshin to make Rasengan work! I understand now!_

And with that understanding, he poured his last remaining energy into the jutsu, completing the nature manipulation faster than he ever had before. The sphere went wild, trying to escape its round confines, but Hinata retained it all, keeping it in its spherical pattern with her own advanced chakra control skill. In seconds, the jutsu was done, and the ball of rapidly swirling compressed air howled with power.

Hikaru howled also, and threw his massive bolt straight at them. Whatever oxygen was left in the chamber burned away in that instant, carrying out Hikaru's final desire for revenge with electric fury.

Naruto, heart pounding and head fuzzy, tried to run forward to meet the attack, but stumbled. Hinata caught him, keeping the jutsu from plunging into the ground and sinking their last hope. Then she stumbled herself, the lack of air taking its toll on her. Naruto helped her rise again with his free hand. Then, supporting each other, they walked into the blazing, crackling death with only a small spherical light of hope in their hands. They held that light aloft together.

_We never go back on our word, and we don't ever give up or regret... That is our nindo!_

"**Futon: RASENGAN!"**

The entire world became crackling electricity and howling wind. Then, for Naruto and Hinata, all was blackness.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Acid rain" had never been taken quite so literally in the history of this world. Yet now, without a cloud or event open sky, it was here, about to fall on Shino. The fruit pods ruptured on command from their mistress, releasing the deadly aqueous solution into the hands of gravity. Acidic death descended upon the bug user.

The insects worked tirelessly and single-mindedly even in the face of this danger. They clawed and scraped and bit at the diamond-hard ground in which Shino's legs were trapped, trying to free him with all the strength that a beehive would use in defense of its queen. Their grinding made some progress; the top layer of hardened soil was chipped away, turned into coarse dust.

It was nowhere near enough, however. Shino still had his feet and lower legs buried, and could not leave the spot to which he was rooted. Meanwhile, the acid fell, and the bug user watched it come as if in slow motion.

_There will be no rescue from the dark one, this time, _Ayaka said to herself. Certainly enough, Uchiha Sasuke did not appear, and the acid impacted with a huge hiss and a cloud of steam as it fell all the way to the ground and kept eating, completely disintegrating the earth-mover plant's enzyme and all in its domain. _Fitting, that he should die with such a glorious display, _she added, observing the white steam cloud.

She turned and began walking towards the chamber door, stepping over the corpses of her insect-savaged plants as she passed them. Her thoughts turned to the events ahead, and she was surprised to find that she hadn't the slightest clue as to what was supposed to happen next. Hiroto had given her no plan; only told her to wait here and play her part. She had assumed that her part was to stall the intruders, among them Aburame Shino. Now that this was done, where did she need to go next?

Going to find Hikaru and then getting out of this place was the most appealing option. They would return to Kumogakure no Sato, give their report, and recover. Then they would likely be assigned a new mission, one that took them closer to the battlefront.

A sudden and unexpected pang of discomfort pulsed through her. To the battlefront... why did that sound so unpleasant right now? She and her clan had disagreed with getting into this useless war in the first place—after all, the element of surprise would only help them so long, and the other countries would retaliate strongly sooner or later—but had known it was useless to question orders. Now, however, there was something else in her that was even more strongly averse.

What was it? Could it be that forcibly working with the one who had started the war, learning of how Orochimaru had started it merely because it was the easiest way to have his needs met? Was it fear of meeting the Aburame clan on the battlefield, being victim to their retribution for the loss of their heir? Was it at all possible that with this victory, she had lost all further reason or motivation for fighting? Or was it some combination of all of it?

And if she did not want to go back to Kumo to rejoin the fighting, then where _did_ she want to go? Her entire life had been preparation for this fight, and she had killed all of her other desires and feelings; she did not know what she would do with herself even if she did get out of here alive.

She was so absorbed in this thought pattern that she never even heard the whistling in the air that signified her danger. Three shuriken stuck in the back of her left shoulder and arm without meeting an ounce of resistance. Ayaka fell to her knees, clutching her arm in pain. Gritting her teeth, she looked over her shoulder to find the one she knew had thrown the weapons.

Aburame Shino stood ten meters away from her, shrouded in the last wisps of steam. His arm was extended to show that it had indeed been he who had attacked. No insects hovered near him, and Ayaka thought that those that had been with him had evidently sacrificed themselves to absorb as much of the acid as possible.

They had not absorbed all of the impact, however; Shino's jacket had taken a large amount of it, too, and he had removed it, discarding it behind him. For good measure, since the jacket had been entirely eaten through in places, he had also discarded the shirt he wore underneath it. His torso and head were uncovered save for his sunglasses, now, but they were still hale and whole. His feet were unharmed, as well, having ripped free of the loosened ground before the acid could reach them. Some of his pant legs had been splashed, but the damage was not serious; there were only a few holes here and there on the upper legs.

Despite the fact that he had just chucked three shuriken into her shoulder, Ayaka found herself fixed in place, staring at him. His expression was stoic and unangered, as though she had not just tried to drench him in acid at all. He seemed to be calm, treating it almost like an exercise.

"You did not mean to destroy me, this time," he said, "Or you would have ensured that my remains were not moving."

_Did not mean to destroy him?_

Before Ayaka could even decide how to respond, he moved. Without bugs, he resorted to his kunai, charging her head-on. She fought the pain in her injuries and stood up to meet him, raising her own knife. Her left arm was useless, but her right was still in good health, and her legs were not damaged at all. Sparks flew as their kunai clashed for the final time.

Her reflexes found her, and she managed to dodge the next attack to one side and retreat further into the darkness of the chamber, getting a better angle of attack. Ayaka knew nothing of what Shino had meant, but though it confused her, she was still prepared to fight to the death—after all, that was what her life had been about for so long...

However, Shino did not press his attack, and instead lowered his knife. He stood silent with his head lifted for a moment, as though listening for some far-away signal. What was that signal? Ayaka did not know, but steeled herself for an assault from insects or reinforcements; she would not be brought down without a bloody fight.

All her mental preparation was in vain; the attacker was not bugs or human reinforcements, but something else entirely. It came with no warning but a slight trickle of soil from above that lasted only a moment before it was upon her. One section of the chamber's ceiling between Shino and Ayaka fell away, crumbling to a pile of dust.

Letting in the sunlight.

Ayaka gasped as it hit her full in the face. Burning, itching sensations started in all of her exposed skin, and these began to spread under her clothes as time passed and the sun went through the cloth. She felt her chest begin to tighten up, becoming painful as the reaction began, and nausea made itself felt in her stomach. Unable to stand it, she leaped out of the bright sunshine and withdrew to the very back of the room, where darkness still had reign.

"Porphyria," Shino said. "An inherited condition that causes the skin to be extremely sensitive to sunlight. Exposure to the sun will result in the skin becoming very fragile and developing blisters and sores. In extreme cases such as your own, the reaction also may induce nausea, high blood pressure, and heart palpitations. You cannot continue to fight me in this place."

Ayaka was stunned. He had remembered that from twelve years ago, but had not remembered the incident itself? "I underestimated your resourcefulness, Aburame Shino," she said. "I did not think that you would remember such a detail."

"In truth, I did not remember it," Shino admitted. "I remembered only that a child with a heavy cloak came to our house twelve years ago, and that the garment was important somehow. I thought that it might still be important now, and when I considered your previous attacks on our party—always attacking near or after sunset, or hiding in dark places, only removing the cloak or its hood when there was no sun out—it made sense to me, and so I capitalized on it. I knew this chamber was near the surface, and so I ordered some of the bugs to dig upward while we fought."

The mentioned bugs returned to their master now, coming down from the opening in the ceiling to rejoin him with glad buzzing. The hive was not all lost. With them safely secured inside his body, the half-clothed Shino stepped toward Ayaka, moving into the sunlight that she could not stand.

"You spared me, though it may not have been your intent," he said, his kunai pointed at her. "I will extend the same courtesy. Acknowledge that you are beaten this day, and vow to return peacefully to your home. In return, I will grant you your life."

From her small shelter, Ayaka stared up at her triumphant opponent, unsure what to think. Should she be angry that her vengeance had been denied her? Should she feel thankful that she had been spared? Should she refuse to accept that the battle was over, and attempt to carry out what she had called her life's purpose at the cost of her life? More importantly, had Shino been the correct target for her vengeance in the first place? Yes, it was the closest match by which to measure the difference in the two clans' strengths, but Aburame Shino had not been the one to turn her over to the abusive ANBU in Konoha. What was an honorable victory if the defeated party was not the guilty party?

She exhaled heavily as the porphyric reaction faded away. Shino had told her that war changes people; she was beginning to believe that he was ultimately right. There would have to be time to sort out her thoughts, and if she continued to fight, she would never have that time.

"Once again, your honor and valor is supremely evident," she told him. "Having no other choice, I agree to your terms of surrender. I will return to Kumogakure no Sato as soon as I have found a new covering and treatment for my injuries."

Shino nodded. "Our own Sakura can treat you, if you will wait for the battle's end. You should be able to find a new covering in the facility's staff quarters, when those are located."

Ayaka smiled for the first time in a long while. "Your offer is noted and appreciated," she said. "But your medical ninja will most likely be averse to doing anything for me but being my second. I will, therefore, politely refuse."

The bug user gave another curt nod, and turned to leave the room. The pale, untanned white skin of his torso passed from the illumination of the sunlight—so rarely in contact with his jacketed skin—into the shadow. The bugs that remained to him emerged and flew into the locking mechanism, breaking it swiftly.

He paused before leaving, turning his head. "Kiba is still dealing with the changes forced upon him. It is questionable if he will ever lose the fear of combat in populated areas. However, he still knows what is right for him to do. Like everyone else affected, he has had to find his answer."

The door opened, and in the next moment Shino was gone. Ibara Ayaka sat alone, bleeding in the sheltering shadow, watching the open door through which he had left. There she remained, contemplating her defeat and its implications. What was _her_ answer?

Until a shudder rose from below and roused her. There was still fighting below. _Hikaru, _she remembered. There was still something to do before she left this forsaken place.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"What the hell just happened?" Kiba asked, startled. The lights in the database room had just flickered, and several of the computer screens were now flashing brightly. A silent alarm seemed to be going off.

"Something was heavily damaged in the lower levels," Neji observed, checking one screen.

"Well, that's good for us," Kiba breathed. "It was probably Naruto, going overboard like he usually does. Do you think that was the cell door for that Keisuke character being blown off?"

"No," Neji clarified. "It seems to be an electric generator. That would explain the lights and the alarm, and if there are any electric locks in the immediate area, those will be opened. Most likely, Naruto destroyed it to gain access to the prison level."

"Yeah," Kiba agreed, "You're probably right. That's definitely Naruto's way of doing things; if it's in the way, knock it down."

Neji smiled. "And failing that, blow it up," he added. As far as they were concerned, there was no need to worry about Naruto if there were still explosions going off down there. Hinata would be safe as well, as long as she stayed with him.

Kiba was concerned for Shino and Hinata, of course, but knew that neither of them would die on him. Hinata was a force to be reckoned with by herself, and with Naruto in tow she was invincible. Shino was the most highly resourceful and cool-headed ninja that he knew. If anyone could get through this, they could.

Meanwhile, he had discovered the confounded "any key" and was helping Neji to find information that might be valuable. So far, he had encountered a good deal of numbers, graphs, pie charts, statistics, calculations, and a million other things that made no sense to him. These he skipped over, trying not to fall asleep as he searched for something stimulating to look at.

After a few minutes that felt like number-filled years, he perked up when he found another familiar picture. It was a cross-section of a male human, appearing to be late thirties, with long, shaggy brown hair and blue eyes. He looked thin and emaciated, as though he had not been fed in weeks, and there were red marks on the image, presumably to show where he had been cut open.

"Hey, look at this," he said, calling Neji over. The Hyuuga Jounin joined him, and Kiba pointed to the diagram. "Do we know this guy? He looks familiar, but the stupid machine doesn't have a name on him. He looks pretty messed up, too..."

Neji's eyes grew wide, looking at the cross-section and then the data beside and underneath it. The man _was_ familiar. If one were to cut the hair short and remove the eyes, the resemblance was uncanny. But that was not the most interesting part; the data which Kiba had skipped showed a wealth of information that the image did not.

"Experimental Subject 064R001," he read, "Or as we know him, Haka no Keisuke. Kiba, you say that you have no skill with computers, but your ability to find these important things suggests otherwise."

"What?" Kiba asked in amazement. "Keisuke? Oh-Six-Four-Ar-Oh-Oh-One?"

"The 064R likely represents the Rokujuuyon Reiude," Neji said. "Since this is what we believed Orochimaru to be testing him for. The 001 probably means that he is the first test subject in this experiment. So Experimental Subject 064R002 is likely to be..."

"Naruto," Kiba finished. "But we knew that already, right? What's the big deal, other than the fact that the guy's got eyes now?"

"We will need this information," Neji explained. "All of it. If Keisuke has suffered damage of a kind unknown to our healers, we will need it to cure him. If Naruto should by chance be taken, we will need this information to guess what Orochimaru will be doing to him. And if Orochimaru has planted a device in Keisuke to spy on us, or to perform some other function in his favor, then these records will have that information in them."

"'Some other function,' huh?" Kiba said, fishing out another disc and handing it to Neji. "Thinking about Orochimaru, it's probably something like that damned curse seal that those Sound guys had three years back."

"It could be," Neji agreed, putting in the disc and copying the files. "It could also be a controlling tool. I'm running a text search on all of those right now, just in case we need to deal with it once we find Keisuke."

"Controlling tool?" Kiba asked. "I doubt there is. Orochimaru isn't that Ayaka chick; he doesn't have those weird plants like got used on Sakura. Total control like that can't be possible in more than one way..."

"That is what we are all hoping, Kiba," Neji said.

OoOoOoOo Writer's Block. End Chapter Eighteen oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **The battle between Sakura and Kabuto continues, and Keisuke and Haruka continue to wait for their opponents to arrive. Neji and Kiba, meanwhile, have found the experimental records of all operations that Orochimaru performed on Keisuke. Could it be that the enemy of Keisuke and Haruka is Keisuke himself?


	21. C19: Trials of Darkness

**A/N: **Here's the conclusion of the Sakura/Kabuto conflict. It took me a good amount of time and help, but I'm glad it's finally finished. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it as much as the others, and I can move on to the last parts without worries. All right...

**Chapter Nineteen: Trials of Darkness**

The limp arm was not so terribly difficult to fix. A little probing with the good hand to locate the severed tendon, a moment longer to start the jutsu one-handed, and a few seconds more to reattach it. Kabuto allowed her all the time that she needed, smiling evilly in anticipation; it seemed he was truly enjoying fighting his fellow medical ninja, in his strange way.

That realization threatened to drive Sakura up the wall, but she knew better than to let herself be caught up in that anger. To do so would cause her to become sloppy, and would only feed the enemy's sick sense of entertainment more—that was the last thing that she wanted. The key to winning this battle would be to remain calm, lay low, think, and wait for the golden opportunity.

Still, it would be _really _satisfying to be able to walk up and deck the guy...

"All finished?" Kabuto asked, still smiling.

Sakura gave no response but glare.

"I will assume that you are healed," he said, raising his arm once more to fling needles, "And continue where we left off, shall I?"

Sakura evaded the needles as she had before, ducking behind a huge table that was occupied by a human corpse. Kabuto lost track of her quickly as she lost herself among the test subjects, equipment, and chemicals for a second time.

"I will credit you, Sakura-san," he said. "You can hide effectively enough to fool a shinobi on the Jounin level, and very quickly. An important skill for a valuable medical ninja, as expected of Tsunade-sama's student."

He walked calmly towards the huge glass vats, the ones where the unconscious frogs were kept. No missile weapons crossed his path, and thus his suspicions of her hiding away to give herself planning time were confirmed. It seemed that he had not succeeded in angering her quite enough yet. That was a pity; he so enjoyed aggravating the younger ones into blind frustration. Since long ago with Naruto, he had not had many chances to do so.

_That's fine, _he thought. _There is one way to draw her out. _He reached the vats and stood before them, looking the frogs up and down.

"You know," he said, a fake frown crossing his face, "I had been planning on using these, but right now it just seems as though they're in the way, taking up space. And they really are disgusting creatures, frogs... perhaps I should relieve Naruto-kun of them so that he need not endure their stink anymore?" He raised his hand, ready to hit the button that woud drain the preservative and reach in to kill them.

_Got her, _he said to himself, sensing movement out of the corner of his eye. Sakura charged him from the right at very close range, holding her kunai low for a blow to the stomach. He turned to knock her away, angling his arm to disable one of her legs at the same time. The surgical cutting chakra flared in his hand.

Unfortunately for him, the arm passed right through her, not touching anything solid at all. His attacker had been a bunshin. _Impressive. Where is the real attacker?_

The real Sakura was already on her way. Once the bunshin had turned his back to her, she popped herself out of her disguise—a human cadaver, which she had used Henge no Jutsu to imitate—and rushed to the offensive, using the opportunity she had created. With a knife in each hand, she struck once at each of Kabuto's shoulders.

Kabuto had been smart enough to know that she would be attacking shortly after the bunshin from the other direction. He twisted around at just the right moment, knocking her backwards with his left arm. Sakura's right kunai sailed out of her hand, sticking in the ceiling above the vat holding Gamakichi. She flailed wildly with the left-hand kunai, desperately lashing out to cause any damage that she could, but succeeded only in cutting a non-fatal gash in his tricep before she flew several meters away, landing and skidding to a halt near a table heavily laden with chemicals.

"That was a worthy effort, Sakura-san," he said in a half-praising tone. The chi technique went to work on his injured arm, regenerating the damage slowly. "However, you will still need to do much better than that. The sons of Gamabunta-sama are still my hostages. Unless you wish to see them die now—for which I would not blame you, from just looking at them—you will need to engage and defeat me directly."

Sakura picked herself up, wincing at pain in her shocked joints. She would survive, but that had been a hard flight. There would be many bruises to tend to later.

"I know," she said, gripping her remaining knife solidly. She picked up a bottle labeled **Concentrated NaOH – Keep Sealed!** Unscrewing the cap, she flung it in a low arc toward her enemy.

"Is that all?" Kabuto asked, tossing a needle and splitting the bottle in two. The highly concentrated base splashed the floor.

"Not yet!" yelled Sakura, slamming her fist into the ground. The floor rippled in a wave toward Kabuto, carrying the corrosive chemical with it. The evil medic was now in danger both from bludgeoning and from having his face melted by Sodium Hydroxide.

He was fast enough to dodge the deadly oncoming wave, and dove to his left behind one of the tables. Luckily for him, this was sufficient to save his life. Unfortunately for him, he was now away from the frogs that he had used as bait to lure out Sakura. It seemed it was going to become a stealth game again. Smiling in anticipation of the continued fun, he created another bunshin for Sakura to expend herself against here and slipped away to hide elsewhere.

_Predictable, _he thought as he heard a kunai clang to the ground. _She keeps attacking the first thing that looks like her enemy, every single time. _He scurried stealthily across the room, finding a new vantage point from which to wait and watch—behind a rare empty table from which he could view the frogs' vats.

There were only so many things that she could do at this point. Lacking attack from him, she would likely either seek him out actively or attempt to free the frogs. If she did the former, Kabuto could play cat and mouse easily all day long. If she tried the latter, she would paint a target on herself for him. _All there is to do, _he told himself, _is wai...what?!_

Sakura surprised him by suddenly vaulting over the table he hid behind and coming down on top of him, landing with her knees on his stomach. She tapped his left arm with her open hand, sending cutting chakra into it to sever the tendon that moved his forearm, before he had a chance to sit up and throw her off. She crashed into an adjacent table, bruising her back again.

"Unh," Kabuto grunted. "That was unexpected. How did you find me so quickly, Sakura-san?" He tried to stand up using his right arm, the one that she had not injured. His eyes widened in shock when he found that the strength had left that arm, too. What had happened? She hadn't cut the tendons in _that_ arm...

"It was your blood," Sakura replied, looking up at him and smiling triumphantly. "You were leaving such a good trail of it, you weren't that hard to find."

"Blood?" Kabuto wondered aloud, frowning. He looked down at himself. He wasn't bleeding anywhere that he could see... wait, there! A pool of it was collecting at his feet! How had that happened? "It seems you are more skilled than I gave you credit for," he said. "When and where did you inflict that damage on me?"

"Before, when you threatened Naruto's frogs," Sakura told him. "You made a mistake by staying in the open. You would have been much better off staying hidden. When I attacked you from behind, I hit you..."

Something changed palpably to Kabuto. It was as though a numbness had been lifted from his right shoulder, leaving pain in its place. It was a piercing pain, as well; feeling it, Kabuto's good right hand went reflexively to that shoulder, clasping it. When he brought it forth again, it was covered in blood.

"In the right shoulder," Sakura finished. "I had to hit you from behind, or else not even the numbing genjutsu that I used on you wouldn't have worked for more than a few seconds, because you would have seen yourself bleeding. But the way I did it, the blood fell behind you, and you didn't see. Plus, the minor wound on your left arm helped distract you from it." She stood up, pulling out the last kunai in her bag.

Kabuto stared. This was not at all how he had predicted this game to end. Who would have known that this innocent-looking, formerly useless girl would be good enough to utilize genjutsu to hide her enemy's own injury from him? It was certainly a crafty trick, and far beyond what he would have expected from her, or indeed of most medical ninjas in the world.

"Is that so?" he said, gritting his teeth against the pain. "So now you've neutralized both of my arms, and there is no way that I'll be able to heal myself in time to stop you from killing me. I will have to make a hasty retreat, it seems. Most unfortunate." He rolled backwards, intending to use the momentum to leap to his feet.

"It's useless," said Sakura. As she watched, Kabuto's backward somersault carried him heels-over-head, landing his feet right into a puddle of fresh frog oil. The enemy medic slipped and fell right back down onto his face, his glasses falling off and skidding across the floor to stop at the feet of a large red amphibian.

"How about that?" Gamakichi said, stepping on the glasses and shattering the lenses. "You took my mobility, I took your freakish second set of eyes. Frog, you've just been plopped in a pot and had the water slow-heated. Never saw it coming until you were already cooked."

"Gamakichi-niichan!" rang out a nasally voice from one end of the lab. "I found a door! It's unlocked, too! Do you think this hallway leads to some snacks?"

Kabuto turned his head to see the great yellow Gamatatsu perched near the laboratory's emergency exit. How had the frogs gotten loose? His eyes flowed over to the vats of preservative where they were supposed to be contained, and found his answer in the human corpses that floated inside them. Sakura had replaced the frogs at some point when the two of them had been hiding around, without him so much as noticing a single awkward movement. This encounter had been a total defeat.

Sakura stood over him now, kunai in hand. It was poised for the death blow, high and sharp and menacing. Anger and justice was on her young face. Kabuto closed his eyes and lay still. So this was how it was going to end for him...

_Oh, well,_ he told himself. _At least it was fun. And Orochimaru-sama's designs will be achieved anyway... _Sakura's fist connected with his vulnerable head, concussing him. He blacked out, and saw no more.

"What, you're not going to kill him?" Gamakichi asked.

"He'll die in the fire, anyway," Sakura said. "I just wanted to get him back, give him one good whack for all he's done to Konoha, and to Naruto and me."

"Ah, I get it," the red frog said. "Girlfrog, you have a weird way of getting people back, but I like it!"

Sakura smiled at him, then stood back up, walking towards the door. "Cover the whole laboratory," she instructed. "Everything that can burn in here, I want burned."

"You got it, girlfrog," said Gamakichi, saluting.

Minutes later, Sakura threw a single kunai, carrying an explosive tag, into a room completely drenched in frog oil, and closed the door. She and her companions bolted away, off into the facility to catch up with their friends.

Behind them, years of terrible medical experiments, along with their performer, went up in flames.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Found anything bad?" Kiba asked.

"The text search didn't turn up anything unusual," Neji replied. "It would appear as if the experimentations were really just that—experiments. If anything was done to Haka no Keisuke that would endanger us, it would either be external to his body or not included in the records."

Kiba stared at the diagram on the screen one more time, trying to make sure that neither of them had missed anything. Though he looked long and hard over every visual detail, there was nothing out of the ordinary in it.

"Damn," he said. "Even if you say that, it still leaves a lot of possibilities. There's too many ways that these bastards could have slipped something in him that we don't know about..."

"Agreed," said Neji. "But unfortunately, there will be no way to find out with the information we found here. I have some skill, but I am no analytical specialist. The specialists in Konoha will have to take a look at these records along with everything else we bring back." The Hyuuga Jounin ejected the disc of Keisuke's records, stowing it in his bag along with the others that he had burned.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Kiba wondered. "If we have all the information we need, shouldn't we be looking for everyone else? It's been a while since the last explosion, you know... you think they're okay down there?" The wild ninja glanced nervously toward the door, obviously very anxious to be gone from the place.

"I have been wondering about that, too," Neji admitted. His pale face betrayed no emotion, remaining true to the mission, but Kiba knew he was still capable of worrying about his cousin.

"So, we going after them now?"

"Yes," affirmed Neji. "We have all that we can get from this database. We will now move to support the rescue effort. Silence is still in effect, Kiba, so proceed cautiously." He nodded toward the door, indicating that Kiba should go first.

Obediently and somewhat gladly—he never did like machines much—Kiba approached the door. He put his hand on the handle, poised to turn it. He applied the necessary force that should have been able to open the door...

But wasn't.

"What the hell?" he yelled. "I can't believe this! We're locked in!"

"You're sure?" Neji asked, his Byakugan coming active to peer at the locking mechanism. Everything seemed to be in order with the handle lock, which Kiba had in fact undone in order to get the door open. But there was a series of bolts within both sides of the door that secured it fast to the walls around it. "Undo the bolts," he instructed.

"What bolts?" Kiba asked. "I didn't shut any bolts when we came in here..."

"But I did," came a voice from the computer banks. "We can't have you rats going back to your friends the way you came, can we?"

Neji recognized that voice. "Hiroto-taicho!" he exclaimed.

"How pleasant it is to see you, Neji, come into my domain along with your dear cousin," the voice said, dripping sarcasm. "You know, I have wanted to make conversation with a sensible Hyuuga for some time since my desertion. Having dear Haruka for company was tiresome at best."

"Haruka-san?" Kiba asked. "Neji, wasn't she killed by the Cloud guys, back there?"

"I had hoped that we would be able to assume the worst and move on," Neji said, "But it seems that we cannot, now. However she did it, if Hiroto is telling the truth, then she escaped their grasp and made it here before we did."

The voice from the computer speakers laughed. "Escaped? Hardly! _I_ was the one who did the dirty job of infiltrating the Kumogakure general headquarters and hauled her out. She hardly did a thing on her own, and did not have the sense to check who it was that was doing the "rescuing" before I incapacitated her. No, she is a useless wench whose only talent is whining and barking. She could no more find her way out of a Cloud army than she could a wet paper bag."

Neji frowned, and his eyebrows narrowed in displeasure. The former Captain seemed to have even less of an opinion of his fellow Hyuuga since the last time they had met. He could hardly believe that he had once listened to this man's preachings in his younger days.

"When you abandoned the defense of our clan estate," he said darkly, "It was Haruka-san who rallied us and rescued Hiashi-sama. She did what you did not have the loyalty or the heart to do."

"Ha!" Hiroto countered. "Admirable as you make it sound, young bird in the cage, you are wrong. Rather, Haruka—and every last one of you who calls yourself a proud member of the Hyuuga clan—did not have the ambition, nor the vision to do what I have done and will do now. It is ironic... the lost Haruka, the outcast, who had more reason to hate her own clan than even I did, was the one who succumbed to its lure of false comradery, false family."

"What you will now do?" Neji asked. "What is it that you want to do now, Hiroto-taicho? Do you mean to bring the Cloud descending on us, the ones that called you brother? Your three elite Cloud shinobi failed to destroy us. Do you think that by getting all of Kumogakure no Sato involved in the war, you can help wipe us out?"

"Oh, man," Kiba said. "Neji, don't get me wrong, but since we're already in trouble, I don't think you'll mind much if I said we probably shouldn't be making this guy angry..."

"I am already angry, whelp," Hiroto said, silencing him. "I have been angry nearly all of my life. The Main and Branch Families, the perfect, painful system of protection for the Byakugan, and the animosity and merciless suffering that results because of it... I am infinitely angry because of that. My friend, Hizashi, died because of that!"

"My father chose death," Neji affirmed. He remembered when Hiashi, his uncle and Hizashi's brother, had explained that to him. It had been difficult to believe, until he had been given the scroll with his father's handwriting on it and seen Hiashi on his hands and knees before him.

"Oh, yes, that is exactly what they told me, as well," Hiroto said, "In that oh-so-convenient document that the Heads of that day's Council forged using his handwriting as a model. I was not stupid enough to believe one false word of it, as you, Neji, apparently were."

"It is you who are the stupid one," Neji said, being bold against his former commander. "The Hyuuga clan is changing, and you have been unable to see it. Your eyes are below par, Taicho."

"Changing, yes," Hiroto acknowledged. "But how long will that last? When the Byakugan's secrets are nearly spread throughout the world enough times, the system will be reinstated all too effortlessly. No, young one, the only way to avoid going back to that horrendous way of life is to wipe out the clan entirely."

"Which brings us back to my question," Neji said. "How exactly do you plan to do that? You will need an army to invade Konoha and strike us down..."

"Not at all, young one," Hiroto said, and Neji thought he could hear a sneering tone. "The bargain with the Cloud was merely a means to an end. I tell them where they can get a Byakugan—your dear cousin, Hinata-sama—and they bring me the blond-haired monster fox. I give the monster to my wonderful host, Orochimaru, and he gives me the power to bring the Hyuuga estate down around your ignorant, stupid ears. Everything is now ready... once I have the required sacrifices, I will be prepared to unleash havoc on your self-destructing clan."

Neji eyed the door. Kiba was still trying hard to budge it, but his efforts were futile. The bolts held fast against his pressure, and in this cramped space it was too dangerous to attempt to use Tsuuga to pummel their way out.

"Is this why you have locked us in here?" Neji asked. "You want to use us as sacrifices for this power of yours?"

"If need be, yes," Hiroto said. "But only if there is no other way. There are others that I would much rather use than you. They prepare to fight elsewhere, and once I am finished subduing you, I will go to them and take them when they are weak and tired. There will be no preventing me then."

The room shuddered suddenly, knocking Kiba off-balance and causing Neji to grab the nearest computer bank for support. They were too busy to respond as the database room began moving downward like an elevator in a half-complete shaft, jerking and rumbling all the way. When it did not stop, and Hiroto did not continue to speak, the two occupants were afforded time to secure themselves against the bumpy ride.

"Subdue us, huh?" Kiba thought aloud. "I wonder how he's going to do that. What do you know about this guy anyway, Neji?"

"He was the Captain of the Hyuuga Elite Guard before he deserted us in the Rock and Sound invasion," Neji responded. "As one would expect of a man holding such a title, he is extremely skilled. We will not find defeating him to be at all easy, whether or not he has any support."

"Is that so?" Kiba asked. "But you're a Jounin, aren't you Neji? You've got a lot of skill, too, so together we should be able to beat him."

"That is what we will hope for," the Jounin replied. "And if not, then there are likely to be possibilities for escape that we may utilize."

"Heh, that's the Neji we all know, all serious and cryptic," Kiba said, smiling ferally. "Now I know we aren't gonna die. This is in the bag already, and when we get out of here, Naruto won't believe his..."

The elevator motion stopped suddenly, and the door opened of its own accord, allowing Neji and Kiba to see out into a dark stone hallway beyond. There were many large, metal doors lining that hallway, which was lit by dim torches. It seemed that the database-elevator had been a shortcut to the prison level.

And standing in the middle of the hallway, some fifty feet away, stood a tall, dark-haired man in a white robe. A small, limp form was tucked underneath one of his arms. When the eyes adjusted to the dark, it became obvious that the form was humanoid, and that a knife was pressed against its throat.

"I have here a small, innocent young child," Hiroto said. "Surrender immediately, or I will murder this child while his mother watches."

Screaming and the rattling of chains could be heard from one of the cells, the door of which stood open. The screaming was high-pitched and frantic, belonging to a panicked female. Hiroto stood in ignorance of it, his eyes riveted to the younger shinobi before him. His expression was one of cold anger and demand.

Neji suddenly realized the trap that had been set. Somehow, Hiroto had been told about Kiba's experience in the mountain town siege, and was using it to incapacitate the wild nin, rendering him useless so that he could subdue Neji alone. He looked to Kiba beside him through the Byakugan's peripheral vision, and saw that his teammate had gone still and pale.

In that moment, Neji realized that unless Kiba miraculously got over his problem with fighting near soft soft targets in the next ten seconds, he would face his old commander on his own.

"Well?" Hiroto asked, smirking in arrogant triumph. "What is it going to be?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Darkness, at last—cool, harmless, blessed darkness, nowhere near the scathing light of the sun. It had taken Ayaka the better part of an hour to dig one-handed through the dirt to the hallway beneath without any of her plants—a very tiring process for the injured woman—but finding the cool darkness below gave her new strength. She hit the ground and began running, intending to find her lost teammate and escape as quickly as possible.

Hikaru might have been stupid, arrogant, and perverted, but right now he was the only ally that she could rely on. She had refused the Aburame's offer of help, and knew that none of the rest of his party would treat her favorably. The remnants of the Sound forces that were stationed here were busy with their own business. If Hikaru was dead, then she was alone.

One plant remained to her, and one only; a special variety created for tracking purposes. The plant was able to sense the pollen of others of its kind and allow her to follow its scent. She always gave packets of pollen to her comrades when they worked with her; Hikaru should have had some on him even now. Indeed, the plant seemed to believe so, and it guided her downward into the depths of the facility, far into the deeper, darker parts made of stone.

However, the path that the plant had her follow dead-ended in a hallway with no doors. She realized that there was most likely a hidden entrance somewhere, for the plant never lied, but there was nothing that could be done about it. Without her other plants, there was nothing she could do to sense them. Ayaka realized that she wasn't going to get to Hikaru this way.

_There must be a different way, _she thought. _The traps were set up along all the possible routes to the prison level, or so the Sound said. If I take one of the other routes to the other side, I should be able to get into Hikaru's chamber. _She took off back the way she had come, intending to take the different path at the last fork. Her shoulder pained her, but there was no time to treat it; the explosions and tremors had ceased, which meant that Hikaru's fight was already over. If he had lost, there might not be any time left to save his life.

Yet somehow, when she reached the other fork and started down it, and felt the powerful, dark presence moving straight towards her, she found time to stop and stare ahead to where it was coming from. It was a power that she had felt before, one that inspired thoughts of a seraphic head severed from its blue-robed body. She fought the urge to back away, standing resolute before it; if she chose to run, she knew that the man who had killed Kouhei was easily fast enough to catch her. Ayaka could only hope that she was not the dark one's prey.

He had, apparently, already sensed her, for he looked at her without surprise or astonishment when he came within view. Rather, his cold red eyes regarded her with the knowledge that he could kill her in an instant with minimal effort, if he deigned to grant her the honor. Ayaka remembered those eyes right after Kouhei had died. They seemed even colder and more dangerous now, somehow. The pupils seemed even to be shaped like black, angular shuriken. They held her attention even after the young man stopped walking.

"You are alive," he noted with neither approval nor displeasure. "Then you defeated Shino... no, that isn't it. Shino spared you. That is very like him..."

_So he can read my mind now,_ Ayaka thought. _Or else, he knew from another source and is playing games with my mind. But why would there be a reason to do so, when he could simply dispatch me in an instant?_

"I'm not going to kill you," the dark one said. "You still have a role to play. Get out of here while it's still safe, and survive to return to your clan."

What did he mean by that? A role that she still had to play? Surely he did not mean for her to continue to oppose the Aburame, after what happened. Why was it so important to him that she return to her clan? What benefit was there in that for him?

Yet before she could ask him anything, his eyes swept off of her and he began walking again, passing her like any other face in the crowd.

"Your teammate is dead," he told her as he passed.

_Dead? _Ayaka thought. She turned, intending to ask him questions, ask him the meaning of all that he had said. But when she had spun around, the dark one was no longer there; he had disappeared from view, and his presence had been masked.

But what did he mean? If Hikaru truly was dead—and the lack of explosions below was excellent support for his claim—then there was something in that young man's claims that was somehow important information for her clan. That, and there would be no reason for such a powerful being to lie to her.

She set off down the way she had come, following the shadow of the dark one, though she knew it could mean her death. To hell with the village—her clan had to know this information if it was true, and with Hikaru dead, there was nothing more she could do but escape, and as long as this dark one was here, expecting danger, then it was likely that she would be safe at least until he left.

Ayaka had a good idea of where he was going, as well. _Powerful shinobi tend to be drawn to other powerful shinobi, _she thought. _He is most likely come to confront either Hiroto or the other one, Orochimaru. There is pollen on both of those two; I should be able to find them easily, and Kouhei's killer with them. _

Following the senses of her tracking plant, she ran at top speed towards the command branch of the facility.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Urgh..." Naruto grunted, holding his head. "Damn it, that hurts! I feel like my brains have been run through a blender!"

Hinata wasn't feeling much better, but then nearly being asphyxiated was liable to cause such affects. "It will fade in time, Naruto-kun," she said. "Once we've gotten more good air."

"I can't believe how lucky we are," exclaimed her blond partner. He stood up, rubbing and stretching his sore shoulders; apparently, he had landed awkwardly on them in the pile of debris he'd woken up on. "It's just amazing how we didn't just stop the lightning, but blasted all the way through the wall to the room outside. If we had hit anywhere else, we would have suffocated to death. I was really lucky to have you here with me after all, Hinata."

A large smile spread across the Hyuuga girl's face. She stood up, taking her place by Naruto's side, and activated her Byakugan. Without Hikaru's stealth jutsu obscuring things, she could see that they had hit the entrance to the passage beyond the room dead-on. It was made of stone and even more dimly lit than the passage from which they had entered, filled with debris, but it was just as wide and led in the right direction. Their way into the bowels of the facility was completely clear.

"There aren't any traps that way," she announced. "It looks like the only defense they installed on this route was that Cloud ninja."

"Can you see him from where you are?" Naruto asked. "If he's still got any fight in him, we need to watch our step."

Hinata shook her head. "He's dead. He got buried underneath the rubble and crushed."

"That's a relief," Naruto said. "The first time I've ever felt relieved about somebody dying. He was a worse hothead than I am, and a mean bastard. Not to mention he wanted to kill you so badly..."

"Yeah..." Hinata said, though she disagreed inside. Some part of her felt guilty for having been the cause of so much misfortune. Still, there was no way that he could have been saved in the situation that he had created. Killing him was most likely an act of mercy. She took some comfort in that.

"Come on," Naruto said, snapping her out of her funk by taking her hand. He looked at her with his confident smile, the one that never failed to make her warm inside. "You and me have some rescuing to do. Unless the Snake Bastard himself shows up, I don't think it'll be that hard, either. You ready, Hinata?"

She returned his smile with one of her own. After surviving the storm that they had just been through, she had to admit that not much else besides the world's most infamous and sadistic villain would scare her now. She gave a short nod and an energetic "Yes!"

"All right," Naruto said. "Let's go get Keisuke-niichan and get the hell out of here. I've had enough of holes in the ground."

They vaulted over the huge pile of rubble and started off down the newly opened path. Naruto re-established the Synchronization between them as they went, combining their senses against any attacker that might be lurking in their way. His feelers waved constantly around them, feeling for traps and concealed enemies, while Hinata's Byakugan penetrated every shadow and crevice, scanning every place that he should miss. No enemies appeared, however, and their progress was swift and unbroken.

The lack of enemies was beneficial to them in another way, too. The link between them, channeled by the Ghostly Arms, passed on the accelerated healing capability caused by the mingling of the Kyuubi chakra with Naruto's to Hinata. Both of them found their left-over injuries from the previous fight healing quickly as they moved. In minutes, they were both nearly fully recovered and, though they still were not full on chakra, they felt almost as though they could fight Hikaru all over again.

As their bodies healed and their progress continued, their spirits lifted. They were on their way to the prison below, perhaps almost there already, where hopefully they could find Keisuke, contact the others by radio, and begin thinking about their retreat. The mission would be over shortly after, and then they could all go home and have a great long rest. Preferably, a rest spent pleasantly in each other's company and the company of their close friends. Perhaps even Haruka would turn up—that would make Keisuke's recovery much swifter, without a doubt...

"Naruto-kun, there's a door around this corner," Hinata said.

"Think it's the door to the jail cells?" Naruto asked, excited. "We'd better be ready; there could be guards waiting for us. You feel comfortable with me showing off a little bit? Nothing too fancy, just something to blow off some energy..."

Hinata stifled a laugh as they came to the door, trying to remain serious and failing. "Go ahead, Naruto-kun," she said. "Just try not to use too much energy, since we still need to get out when we're finished."

Naruto flashed a smile reminiscent of a kid who'd just been given a cookie. Now Hinata really did laugh some; it was both comical and comforting to see him enjoying himself, even on such a mission as this. She supposed it was to be expected, since he _had_ just defeated a monster of an opponent. What man wouldn't feel full of himself, even just a little bit?

The blond threw open the door and hurtled into the dirt-floored, brightly lit chamber beyond. A giant smile of confidence was plastered to his face.

"All right, you Snake-kissing freaks!" he yelled. "Who's next?!"

"Ah! Finally!" exclaimed a female voice. "Do you assholes have any idea how bored I was? It's rude to keep us waiting so long, you know!"

"Huh?" Naruto said, immediately confused. "But that sounds like..."

"Naruto-kun, above!" Hinata yelled.

His head immediately snapped back to look above him. A Hyuuga with dark, braided hair was dropping from the ceiling right on top of him! The silver eyes blazed with the anticipation of battle, looking right into him with cunning and a destructive intent that was unmistakable.

"Haruka-neechan!" he gasped, preparing to leap out of the way. "It's m... gah!"

Naruto's leap had been stopped abruptly by a sinkhole that appeared directly below his feet, sucking him down and rooting him in place. He was trapped! But what the hell had caused that thing? He reached through the Synchronization link to Hinata's eyes, and peered down around him. No mistake; he had been caught by a Rokujuuyon Reiude trap seal.

"Caught you!" shouted another voice from the side, this one a male. Naruto's head turned that way, unable to believe his ears and hoping his eyes would not deceive him so.

Unfortunately, they saw exactly what he did not want them to see. A thin, ragged man with a mane of brown hair and many scars stood nearby, an elaborate seal etched into his skin. Flames burned along that seal, giving him the appearance of some kind of hell-spawn. A number of long, thin arms visible only to the Byakugan reached out from sixty-four points in his chakra circulatory system, extending the reach of his chakra into the air. Some of those reached up into the air, connecting him to Haruka.

The man had blue eyes to match Naruto's own, but other than that his features were unmistakable for anyone else's. This man was the man that they had come here to save.

"No way," Naruto said, too amazed to even defend himself from the oncoming Jyuuken strike. "Keisuke-niichan?"

Fortunately, Hinata still had enough wits about her to defend them both. Her arms whirled above their heads, slicing the air with blades of luminous chakra. They arced high, warning the attacker to abandon the assault or be harmed. Haruka saw the defense and halted her advance, kicking off against the wall to launch herself gracefully through the air. She landed beside Keisuke, a look of wicked enjoyment on her face.

"It looks like this is the challenge we've been waiting for," she told her formerly blind partner. "I think this ring here must be a good luck charm, Keisuke!"

"You call being assaulted good luck?" Keisuke replied with mock astonishment. "I know you're sadistic, but to go so far as _wanting _to be attacked by big, dark, surprisingly skilled shadow-people when we're supposed to be running for our lives out of here? That's a new level even for you."

"Are you really that surprised?" Haruka said, still staring eagerly at their opponents.

Keisuke laughed. "No, actually. I'm not."

Naruto gawked at them while he let Hinata help him out of the sinkhole. What the hell was going on? They were acting completely like themselves, with the exception of the fact that they seemed to think of him and Hinata as their enemies. He had thought that after Hikaru, nothing would surprise or challenge him other than Orochimaru or Sasuke, but now he was no longer sure about that.

"Hinata," he said, a note of unexpected fear leaking out in his voice. "What's wrong with them? They're themselves, but they're not recognizing us. What do you think happened?"

Hinata was staring wide-eyed at them herself, now. The exact same confusion seemed to be on her mind.

"I don't know," she said. "They called us 'dark shadow-people.' Do you think somehow their vision has been distorted?"

"I don't think so," Naruto said. "I can see them just fine, and they seem like they can target us pretty well. Maybe they're brainwashed?"

"HEY!" Haruka shouted at them, seeming annoyed. "You big black wonders frozen in fear or something? Quit squawking in that gobbledegook of yours and come at us! I've been waiting long enough as it is!"

"Crap," Naruto said, "It looks like they can't understand what we say, either. What the hell happened?"

"It seems like your prey might be trying to taunt you, Sadist," Keisuke said, smiling at his partner.

"Oh?" Haruka intoned, licking her lips. "Is that so? Well, it would be just terrible if I didn't accept their challenge, wouldn't it? Fine, you sleazy shades... if you're not coming over here, I'll go to you!"

She charged forward with a great, sweeping stride, palms poised to deliver a fatal strike at Naruto's stomach. Her eyes burned with excitement. Behind her, Keisuke's Reiude flared out as he began to make hand seals, planning to support his partner from a safe distance.

"Damn it!" Naruto yelled, evading Haruka with a roll to the right. "Hinata, I don't know what the hell's gone wrong with them, but we can't let them just kill us! We're gonna have to fight them!"

OoOoOoOo Plot Twist no Jutsu! End Chapter Nineteen oOoOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **So many new developments! Sakura has won her fight, just as Shino has, but where will both of them be going now? Will they be able to rejoin their fellows in the sprawling underground facility? Will Neji and Kiba triumph over Hiroto and his unfair tactics? What was it that Sasuke has planned for Ayaka and her clan?

And most importantly... what will be the fate of the two Reiude-Byakugan teams, reunited at last only to become locked in combat with each other?

There will be only one source for the answers...


	22. C20: Guts, Wits, and Death

**A/N: ** I am way distracted now. So distracted that I have no idea what to write in the author notes.

((Edit)) Actually, there is something I'd like to share with you in case you didn't see it. Gabzilla, bless her, has come out with another excellent work based on the Naruto/Hinata Rasengan scene in chapter 18 of this story. The art made the front page at DeviantArt and received more than one thousand favorites. A link to it is available in my author's profile page. Thank you again, Gaby!

**Chapter Twenty: Guts, Wits, and Death**

For Haruka, the excitement was boiling over. The long, awkward wait was over at last, and the strong opponents that she had been craving had shown themselves at last. Their appearances were shadowed—probably intended to be a genjutsu scare tactic—so that they looked like upright, animate shades. Haruka was far from frightened, however; she and Keisuke would defeat these two together, and go home in triumph.

It was not going to be as easy a battle as she had thought when the opponent arrived, however. Their shock appeared to have worn off quickly, and the target that she pursued after the initial attack was fast enough to evade. The other shade followed after them, intercepting Haruka and engaging her to give the original target time to escape to a safe distance.

"Distracting me to keep me away from your partner, eh?" she said to the interceptor. "That's useless. You won't fare any better than he would have!" Changing angles to come at the new threat from the left, she accumulated chakra in her right palm. With full speed, she charged, aiming Jyuuken directly at her opponent's lung. A wicked grin crossed her face; this would hurt badly enough that there would be no way for this one to interfere a second time.

But to her surprise, the opponent seemed to be expecting her brand of attack. The shade dodged subtly to Haruka's right, so that the attack barely missed by inches. Haruka's grin faded, seeing her attack so easily estimated and evaded. This opponent had to have fought Hyuuga before, at least one time.

Her surprise increased exponentially when, within a millisecond of dodging, the shade returned the attack—_in the Hyuuga fashion._ In a perfect, graceful maneuver, Haruka's opponent twisted its shadowy body halfway around, jabbing two fingers into her out-thrust arm. Haruka felt the stab of momentary pain followed by numbness that accompanied the closing of a tenketsu point. This opponent hadn't just _fought_ Hyuuga; this opponent had to have actually _been_ a Hyuuga! A closer look at the shade on Haruka's part revealed that, in the shadowy head, there were two white spots that could have represented eyes. More than that, as well—the body shape of the shade was female, moving with as much grace, or perhaps even more, than she did!

Haruka was stuck staring at the enemy like a statue. _It couldn't be, _she told herself. _No Hyuuga would willingly give themselves to someone like Orochimaru, who did _that_ to Keisuke..._ Apparently, however, someone had, for the shade was now following up her tenketsu strike with more of the same, maneuvering quickly behind Haruka to seal up more. In a moment, the Sadist would be disabled.

Luckily, she was not alone. At blurring speed, Keisuke intervened, dashing to them and yanking her out of harm's way. Dirt kicked up around them as they sped to a safe distance. From Keisuke's arms, Haruka recognized the pattern of Chisoku no Kokuin on her partner's skin, the Carved Seal of Progression that made inhuman speed possible for the Reiude user.

"Hey, put me down!" she protested. "I didn't ask for a gallant knight in shining armor, you know! That shadow girl wasn't anywhere near winning!"

"That 'shadow girl' is a Hyuuga like you," Keisuke said, letting her down, "And you were about to get a heavy dose of her Hakke. If you weren't going to move..."

He was cut off by an unintelligible shout from behind him, which heralded the incoming blast of lightning-fast air from behind them. It impacted the ground only two meters from where Keisuke stood a half-second before, exploding and sending dirt flying everywhere. It had come from the second shade, which was now being rejoined by the Hyuuga shade.

"What the hell was that?" Haruka asked. She was staring at the small crater left in the blast's wake.

"No mistaking it," Keisuke said. "That was Raifu Daigeki, the Lightning Wind Strike. The second opponent has the same Ghostly Arms that I do."

"Ah, no way!" Haruka exclaimed. "I can't see any Arms coming from him. Can you?"

"No," Keisuke admitted. "That doesn't mean they're not there, though. If they can shadow their appearances with whatever that black aura is, it shouldn't be too hard to hide the Ghostly Arms, which were normally invisible to begin with."

Neither pair was moving at the moment. They stood staring at each other, and Haruka could hear them conversing in their garbled, guttural language even as she spoke to Keisuke. They seemed to be trying to decide what to do next, watching her and Keisuke carefully for any signs of weakness or sudden movements.

"Bastards," Haruka said. "Those bastards had to have been doing something to us in our sleep. We're up against _ourselves_ now, Keisuke! Orochimaru and his damned goons made living shadows of us!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Cruelty.

This was what Kiba faced now—cruelty incarnate, a monster that had known suffering in its past, one that could only find solace in projecting that cruelty onto others. The cruelty showed in Hiroto's horrible, toothy grin. It glinted off of the knife held against the unconscious child's throat and sounded in the screech of the child's mother in the next room. Its pressure infected the wild nin, stiffening his joints and turning his skin cold.

Kiba wished that Akamaru were here. The dog would nudge, bark, and bite him back to his senses, would fight alongside him, would comfort him when the fight was through. If Akamaru were with him, he might feel he had the power to save that child and his mother, those who had no part in this crazy battle.

But Akamaru wasn't here. He was standing guard over Jiraiya and the team's escape route.

"I will give you ten seconds to fall to your hands and knees," Hiroto told them. "Comply, and you will suffer temporary unconsciousness and most likely survive. Defy me, and the delay that you cause me may necessitate your deaths in addition to the death of this child."

More wailing came from the open door nearby. The child still remained limp and helpless.

"Neji," Kiba asked, his voice gravelly with strain, "That's not a trick, is it? That kid is real?"

"Hiroto is completely serious," Neji said. "As he always is. He does not need guile or trickery to win."

There was no doubt in Kiba's mind that Neji was being truthful. All of that power and cruelty in the image that stood before them did not lie. The child and his mother were both real, just as the Byakugan confirmed.

"Kiba," Neji said, breaking his stare. The wild nin ceased looking at the cruel picture in front of them and refocused his gaze to by his side, where his commander sought his attention.

"We cannot surrender ourselves to him," the Jounin told him. "Whatever plans he has for the Hyuuga clan will affect all of Konoha. This is a case of one life against thousands."

_They say a thousand deaths is a statistic, and one is a tragedy,_ Kiba thought to himself. The terrified mother howled again, making him avert his eyes back to Hiroto, who was still smirking at them and shaking his head at their fruitless scheming.

"Also," Neji continued, "There is the fact that our friends—in particular, Naruto and Hinata-sama—will be in great danger of dying if Hiroto is not stopped. Surrender is out of the question, for me."

Kiba felt the wind at his back that meant Neji had gone forward to engage, and his face grew wild. To choose between the life of an innocent stranger, who had nothing to do with this, and the lives of his best friends? More than that; the lives of possibly half of Konoha, which was already more than devastated? In such a huge war, the village could not survive another assault like that. As for Hinata, who was as much his sibling as she was his teammate and Shino's...

He turned to watch Neji's attack. Hiroto had elected to simply defend against the assault of his fellow Hyuuga, leaving the child unharmed. Kiba knew it was because of him; Hiroto believed that as long as he held the unconscious captive, he would not be attacked by more than one. However, he could see that Neji used the occupation of his one arm to his advantage. The elder Hyuuga's skill kept him alive, but it did not seem to be enough to defeat Neji one-handed.

A thrust to the heart made by Neji had to be dodged rather than blocked, but that was no loss of combat momentum. Hiroto leaned to his right and ducked under the Jyuuken blow, bringing his left leg up for a counterattack. Spinning like a top on his planted right leg, he launched a sweeping kick aimed at his younger opponent's head. There was such power in it that even as Neji stopped it with both of his hands, it caused him to slide backwards along the floor several inches.

Neji made the attempt to strike at a tenketsu in the leg, hoping to slow down Hiroto's mobility. The old Captain knew exactly what to expect, however, and twisted at precisely the right moment and angle to make him miss. He then began shaking his leg violently in an attempt to free it. Seeing a good opportunity, Neji did some twisting and shaking of his own, causing him to fall heavily to the ground. Kiba looked on hopefully as his commander dove straight at Hiroto's exposed chest, a deadly Jyuuken bolt held in his palm.

Kiba's expression turned beleaguered again when Hiroto held up the child in front of him for protection. Neji barely stopped himself in time, holding off the deathblow mere inches from the kid's head. It seemed that if Hiroto wasn't able to attack with that hand, he was going to make use of his human shield.

Neji's hesitation afforded the enemy an opening, and a double-legged leaping kick slammed Neji in the chest. The upward momentum carried Hiroto all the way back onto his feet, and the arrogant smirk found its way back onto the old Captain's face. It was clear now that Neji was at a disadvantage.

_Damn it, _Kiba lamented silently as the battle continued. _I have to do something about this, but I don't know how I can! _

Neji took one of his strikes at Hiroto with too much forward momentum. The enemy sidestepped him and, taking a grip on his arm and shoulder, capitalized on his mistake by twisting forward and down, causing the younger Hyuuga to make an unscheduled flight several meters down the hallway, completing one and a half forward flips en route. When Neji sat up, he was clutching that shoulder and wincing; some tenketsus in that shoulder and upper arm had been painfully shut.

This motion, however, while it harmed Neji greatly, exposed Hiroto's back to Kiba. The wild nin's speed would have been more than enough at this range to cause some considerable damage before a countermove could be made.

Hiroto did not have any need to make a countermove. All he had to do was turn his head and glare menacingly at Kiba, reminding with blazing silver eyes what the consequences of any attack would be. Kiba stayed put.

_That bastard, bringing a kid into this mess! Neji's losing the fight in front of me, and I can't do a damned thing without hurting his prisoner! Damn him!_

Neji, now without chakra in one arm, stepped up his offense with the other. He used his already-sealed arm to block further Hakke attacks while assaulting with his good arm and legs. Feinting to the right side, then ducking under a retaliation, he made a snatch for the captive child.

Hiroto would not give up his human shield, however. Swiftly, he brought out his kunai again and held it in the path of Neji's hand, pointed at the child. If Hiroto did not spear the captive on his own, Neji's grasping hand might. Neji was a skilled Jounin and able to stop himself in time, but he only barely missed the reverse thrust that Hiroto made as the knife flipped over and cut a gouge in his side.

_But if I don't do anything, _Kiba told himself, _then Neji could die here, and Hinata and everyone else could follow. I have to do something!_

Hiroto flashed him another maniacal smile while Neji stumbled backward, clutching his side. "You cannot win like this," he said. "Give up the battle now, and I will make the Hyuuga clan's death quick and easy."

_The lives of my friends, or the life of someone who was forced into this and has nothing to do with it. _Kiba's fists clenched and shook, and sweat beaded on his forehead._ How the hell do I make this choice? What would Akamaru want me to do?_

A solid kick sent Neji's back careening into the stone wall opposite the open cell door. Hiroto now stood over him, a chakra-imbued kunai poised to disembowel the younger Hyuuga. Neji's Byakugan disappeared, struggling against the pain in his side and arm even as he thought of how he might get out of this.

Suddenly, Kiba's eyes widened, and his clenched fists stopped trembling. _The only choice, _he realized, reaching for a kunai and a smoke bomb, _is to choose both!_ He charged, hoping that Hiroto's apparent focus on Neji would buy him a sliver of precious time.

It didn't. Hiroto's three-hundred and sixty-degree field of vision easy noted his approach, and the knife and the unconscious child were both held up in his direction. Kiba scowled, and threw his smoke bomb at the enemy's feet. The enemy had superior sight, but that could be clouded for a while. The wild nin, in the meantime, would rely on his nose.

He sped toward the fight, resolved to save both the innocent and his friends and, if that wasn't possible, to save at least one of them. Either way, he knew that inaction would save nobody.

As the smoke spread, the last visible thing was the glint of torchlight on a moving kunai. The last sound was a panicked mother's screech.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Damn it," Naruto said, listening to Haruka talk. "She's not even close to right..."

"Naruto-kun," said Hinata, "This is bad; they still don't recognize us, but now they know our abilities. They know that they are fighting people with the same capabilities that they have."

Naruto nodded and grunted affirmative, showing his understanding. Now that Haruka and Keisuke realized that they were up against another Byakugan-Reiude team, subduing them long enough to try to explain things was going to be far more difficult. He and Hinata were going to have to be extremely cautious.

Unless...

"Hinata," he said, an idea suddenly striking him, "Our jutsu are definitely a lot like theirs, but there are plenty of differences in style. If we use less of their jutsu and more of ours, it should prove that they aren't up against carbon copies of themselves. That might get them thinking that it's actually us!"

"Okay, you cheap imitations!" Haruka yelled, cutting off Hinata's response. "Get yourselves ready! Black puppets are nothing compared to the real deal!" The confident, cocky grin was returned to her, and the stance that she took barely held under the weight of contained excitement. She clearly intended to enjoy this test of her skill.

Beside her, Keisuke made preparations for battle in silence, letting his partner do all the talking. Through the Byakugan's vision, Hinata and Naruto watched his Ghostly Arms coil around him, sinking into his skin and forming an elaborate pattern, one of jagged lines and straight edges, wrapping and criss-crossing until it covered his entire body. Naruto recognized it as one of Keisuke's Insotsu Kokuin, the Commanding Carved Seals that he could form to harness the worldly elements. This particular one glowed a sharp yellow-white, and that glow promised electric shock to anyone who grazed the affected skin.

"I'll take him," Naruto said. He did work with his own Ghostly Arms, twisting and tying them together to form shorter but thicker appendages. The "Tails of Light" took form, glowing with bright blue incandescence. All nine of them waved about behind him, awaiting his command.

Hinata nodded in agreement; against the lightning-infused skin that Keisuke had given himself, any attack that wasn't a direct hit—especially the Jyuuken, which could cover a lot of surface area—would generate friction that would trigger an electric shock. It was best to let Naruto, whose detached "tails" would not suffer great damage or pain from being shocked, fight the other Reiude user. Her job would be to keep Haruka from attacking Naruto and to try to disable Keisuke.

Against their expectations, however, it was Haruka that charged first rather than Keisuke. Normally, when the Reiude user made use of his Kokuin ability, it meant that he was planning to take the front of the battle. It seemed that the older team was trying a feint of some kind.

Naruto flipped his hands rapidly through seals and aimed one of his free Ghstly Arms at Haruka. Simultaneously, he sent a pulse of chakra through the Synch connection, indicating the direction that Hinata should take—towards Haruka. He planned to jolt the older Hyuuga off-course, allowing Hinata to intercept her.

Keisuke, however, saw Hinata start running out to meet his partner, and had similar thoughts. His own hands made identical seals, and one of his Reiude took aim at Hinata in the same fashion. Naruto noticed this just barely in time, and made a last-second correction in aim. Together, the two Reiude users released the same attack.

"**Reiude Ninpou: Raitsuchi Daigeki!" ** (Ghostly Arm Special Art: Lightning Earth Strike)

The two bolts of rock-solid chakra slammed into each other in midair at the speed of lightning, rippling along the paths set by their users' Arms. The resulting concussion blew a shallow hole in the ground and knocked both Hyuuga backwards, returning the balance of power to equilibrium.

However, the element of surprise was now in Naruto's hands, and he made use of it. As quickly as he had let off his blast, he was mobile, charging Keisuke with his tails blazing behind him. He waved a few of those tails in front of him, both to prepare to deflect a counterattack and to shove his unique style in his confused brother's face.

Keisuke apparently had been neither surprised nor unprepared, however, and Naruto's first punch was blocked with seeming ease. His hand was pushed aside to make room for Keisuke's own swing, aimed straight at Naruto's face. Naruto reached down with one of his tails to deflect the blow, wondering why Keisuke did not seem to be surprised by the appearance of nine glowing tails, a technique that only he had ever used. The older Reiude user leaped backward two meters, staring at him.

"That black aura of yours is a useful thing," Keisuke said. "I can't see what your Ghostly Arms are doing at all. That gives you a distinct advantage." He released his lightning seal, shifting the Reiude around on his body to form a different Kokuin. "Let's see how strong this defense of yours is. **Reiude Ninpou: Ryoku no Kokuin!" **(Carved Seal of Power)

The attack was renewed, Keisuke coming at him with two kunai this time. Naruto knew what this Kokuin did as well, but that didn't make the job of defending against it any easier; there was now more than four times the physical strength in Keisuke's muscles, and the Tails of Light had to work hard to push the blows aside. Keisuke pressed this new advantage, attacking relentlessly in an effort to keep him on the defensive.

It was a typical tactic for Keisuke and Haruka to have the Reiude user occupy a strong opponent until the Hyuuga could land a crippling or killing blow. Naruto realized quickly that he was vulnerable to outside attack while busy in this fast-paced taijutsu melee, and felt through his Synchronization to find out what Hinata was doing.

She had recovered from the concussion quickly enough, and was maneuvering around him and Keisuke, looking for an opening to strike. This was difficult for her because she not only had to look for an opportunity to get inside, but also to make sure that she could strike without harming Keisuke too badly; the objective, after all, was to neutralize rather than kill.

There was also the fact that both she and Naruto had to be wary of Haruka. Their combined senses picked her up on the opposite side from Hinata, looking for the same kind of opening. If they were not careful, she could easily injure or kill either one of them.

Both teams had their advantages and their disadvantages. Naruto's Reiude was somehow hidden from Haruka's Byakugan, so that they had surprise on their side in that area. Unfortunately, since killing Haruka and Keisuke was absolutely out of the question, they had to be especially careful to pull their punches, and the "black aura" that hid the Arms also ensured that their confounded friends would never recognize the difference in Reiude styles. Haruka and Keisuke had no compunctions against hurting or killing, since they did not yet understand who they were trying to defeat. What was more, they were fresh from a long, if unwanted, rest. However, Keisuke was still tender in certain places, and he had yet to get used to his new eyes; Naruto noticed that they twitched and squinted constantly, often as though in surprise.

If either Naruto or Keisuke gained the upper hand in the middle, that person's partner would be better able to move in for a disabling strike. At that point, if the other's partner was unable to protect him, he would find himself in grave danger. Currently, the battle was at a stalemate, and neither Hinata nor Haruka seemed to have a good angle to attack from.

Naruto refused to lose this fight. How could he, when it had been the whole reason for his coming here? He set his feet into the ground and grappled furiously with his adopted brother, using his tails to wrap Keisuke's arms and slow down his attacks. Though Keisuke's power seal gave him the strength to rip free of them and keep attacking, the tactic severely reduced his momentum. Naruto began to push him back.

"You're damned tough," Keisuke grunted as he blocked a straight punch with his arm. The Kokuin glowed a brighter white, and Naruto knew that he was putting more chakra into it to counter the loss of momentum.

_That's good, _Naruto thought. _He's wounded, and the faster he burns up chakra, the better the odds are that we'll end this peacefully. _

He felt a sudden pulse in the Synch, indicating that Hinata had chosen this moment to attempt an attack. Almost an instant later, he saw Keisuke's eyes widen as the older man detected the danger. Naruto's tails made a grab for his right arm a little too late, however, and the threat of a defensive backhand forced Hinata to abandon her attack.

She sent him a second pulse, however. This could only mean that she was going to try again—_that's my girl,_ he found himself thinking—which had him scrabbling to complete the restraint that he had attempted last time around. There was just a small problem: Keisuke's offending arm was already extended beyond his reach, and the other arm was up defensively to ward off any attack from Naruto.

_Well, there's a remedy to that!_ Naruto thought. He made use of his extra limbs by grabbing hold of the hand facing him with his physical hands, hauling him into the reach of his tails, with which he siezed Keisuke's opposite shoulder. This left the older Rieude user staring wide-eyed at the onrushing Hinata, his back to the triumphant Naruto.

Now Hinata had a clear shot, which she took advantage of with haste. Her middle and index fingers grouped together, she rapidly pressed three points before Keisuke recovered himself and retaliated. Though she had to retreat from the heavy two-legged kick, the damage had already been done. Her Hakke manipulation of those three tenketsus triggered what Naruto liked to call the "ramrod reflex," forcing the Ghostly Arms sprouting from those points to tear free of Keisuke's skin and straighten themselves like iron bars. It was only an instant before he had them loosened up again, but the white glow of the Kokuin vanished, the pattern disrupted. Keisuke's power seal had been negated.

With this, the balance of power in the middle had tipped to Naruto. Though he hated to harm a friend and brother, this was the perfect opportunity to knock him out, and taking it would help end the battle quickly and without terrible injury to Keisuke.

"I'm sorry, niichan," he said. His arm raised up...

Only to come down once more as Haruka attacked him from behind, striking at _his _tenketsus. He realized, too late, that his focus on disabling Keisuke and the use of all of his tails for that purpose had led to him leaving himself momentarily open to attack from the rear. All of his back tenketsus were hit before Hinata had time to come around and chase Haruka off, and the "ramrod reflex" caused five of his tails to disappear.

Among those tails that were dispersed were those that held Keisuke. This enabled Haruka's partner to twist easily free of Naruto's physical grip and run off to a safer distance. He did not bother to re-form his Kokuin, and Haruka followed after him. It seemed as though they were regrouping and about to change their strategy, which was smart of them; at this rate, Keisuke could not have continued to keep up with Naruto without exhausting himself rapidly.

Hinata came up next to him, in a ready stance to counter whatever new tactic they might try. Seeing her, Naruto took the chance to say what he couldn't say in the heat of the fight.

"To anyone else, it would be obvious that our styles aren't identical," he explained, "But whatever's making us look different to them is hiding the Reiude. They can't even see my tails."

Hinata guessed what he was going to say next, and replied, "But, Naruto-kun, the only techniques that I have that Haruka-san doesn't are Shugo Hakke and Nibai Kirite. She didn't seem to recognize Shugo Hakke when we started, and Nibai Kirite is too dangerous..."

"Gah, so it has to be something of mine, then," Naruto said. "Something non-Reiude that Keisuke can't do..."

"What, you're out of 'em already?!" he heard Haruka yell.

"This will be the last one," Keisuke said. "The box only had a few in it to begin with, and I burned up everything that I got from the others with healing myself. We can't afford not to use it now, though; I'll be out of chakra soon... unless you had some stored away in the bag for later?"

"Of course not!" Haruka said, hefting a nearby sack. "I knew you needed them, so why would I... uh oh..."

Something fell out of the bag. It was small, but the detail had remained unmarred by its journey through the facility. The antique face of Yondaime Hokage stared up at the ceiling, the only serene face in the entire room.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The wounds were beginning to trouble her, but Ayaka knew there was not much farther to go in this place. She had followed her plant's pollen trail back up to where she had conferenced with Hiroto and Orochimaru, and then let it lead her downward, following a dark trail that she remembered the Snake Sannin disappearing into. It was a dark place, one which felt soothing to her, and the pollen signal was getting stronger at every step now, so she knew that Orochimaru—and likely the dark one that had killed Kouhei—were very close. She could tolerate the pain a while longer.

Soon, the light disappeared altogether. Ayaka had to maneuver through the narrow passageway without the aid of her vision. Though it was a bother to not be able to see, however, the passage was clean, dry, made of what she guessed must have been some form of sedimentary rock, and small enough so that she could just barely touch both walls with her fingertips with her arms fully spread; guiding herself through it by feel was easy enough.

Suddenly, one of her wounds gave a terrible, painful throb, and she could not help but gasp in spite of her best efforts. Her good hand went to it, pinching and pressuring until the throb was suppressed. She strained her ears, listening to determine if anyone had detected her sudden burst of noise.

However, the voices that she heard when she calmed herself did not seem to be concerned with her.

"...trust that traveling here with Naruto-kun was pleasant for you?"

"More or less."

Ayaka recognized both voices immediately. The first was unmistakably that of Orochimaru, Hiroto's host. The second belonged to the dark one that had passed her in the hall after her fight with Aburame Shino. As she had thought, the two superpowers had come here to meet each other. Luckily for her, they were either too absorbed in each other or too uncaring to acknowledge that she was listening to them. She tried to determine exactly where they were in the pitch dark, and though she could not pinpoint them, she did feel what seemed to be a door handle on the wall next to her, which must have led into the room that they now occupied.

"Well, then," Orochimaru went on, "As you no doubt remember, my body has been growing steadily weaker in recent months. The time for my transfer to a new container has been approaching..."

Ayaka could hear shuffling sounds; it was likely that the Snake Sannin was standing up with some difficulty. He _had_ looked very pale when she had seen him. However, what was this nonsense about containers and transferring?

"Orochimaru," she heard the dark one say, "There is something you need to know. Danger is waiting for you."

Laughter reverberated out into the hallway, as Orochimaru replied, "If you mean to warn me about the detachment of Akatsuki that has been nosing around the Grave, that is hardly necessary. I have known about them for a number of days already. By the time they have located this place and used their weapon, I will be far gone from here. All they will find is my former shell and some rubble."

_What weapon? _Ayaka wondered. She had heard about Akatsuki from someone in her village—apparently, the S-class criminals had been snooping around Kumogakure no Sato looking for something called a "Jinchuuriki"—but what weapon could they have developed that would give the dark one concern?

Even as she wondered, Orochimaru continued, "The time is now. With your strength, I will sieze the power of your old friend, Naruto-kun, and acquire all jutsu and ultimate power. With that strength, both your ambitions and mine will be attained."

Chakra was building up on the other side of the door, so powerful that it made Ayaka cringe. Something big was about to happen. Was it this "transfer" that the Sannin had sounded so eager for?

Suddenly, something in the upper levels of the facility made a large crash or explosion. The passage began rumbling, and in the struggle to catch her balance, Ayaka almost didn't register the huge expulsion of the chakra that had accumulated. The sound of the blast above drowned out the sound nearby, but she thought, for a fleeting moment, that she could hear someone screaming in agony.

Then all sound died and the passageway went cold and silent once more.

OoOoOoOo Late Update no Jutsu! End Chapter Twenty oOoOoOoO

**Next chapter: **As of yet, all battles have no clear winner. How will things end? And what, exactly, has Ayaka just partially witnessed?


	23. C21: Imminent

**A/N:** Almost done. You have my word that it will be finished as soon as I have spare time and a computer handy, which will likely start immediately after basic training in April. I realize you'll be left hanging for at least two months, but there is nothing that can be done about it and I don't dare rush it; if I try to force a chapter when I'm not ready, it turns out terrible and I have to start over. Please, bear with me.

**Chapter Twenty-One: Imminent  
**

It was early afternoon in the forested grove which served as the team's camp. High and bright was the sun, clear and blue the sky, and serene the canopy. The animals were up and about; they could be heard everywhere, doing what animals do in the forest. They could be smelled, as well, and many of those smells seemed incredibly interesting.

Akamaru, however, was a trained nin-dog. He knew that his job was to stay here and guard the tired old human that smelled like decomposing frogs until his master came back. He would have loved to go and see what some of those smells belonged to, but this was impossible. Thus, Akamaru sat outside the smelly old man's tent, cleaning himself repeatedly to stave off boredom. Every now and again, he would poke his nose into the tent to determine whether his charge was still alive and well. Each time that he did, the same decomposed-frog smell greeted him.

He really wished that some of the wildlife would come over to play with him or at least give him something to watch and smell. A small swarm of tiny, gnat-like insects had come investigating earlier in the day, when the place just began to warm up, but they hadn't been much fun; they seemed only to be interested in periodically darting toward his eyes, as though to poke them out. The big dog had dealt with that annoyance swiftly, leaping up and snapping at them with his jaws. Those bugs that did not become stuck to his tongue fled, not wanting to share the fate of their fallen kindred. After that, Akamaru had had no more visitors at all. The memory made him growl and lay his head down on his forepaws.

Often, when he felt about ready to fall over from boredom, he thought of Kiba. The master was now in a very dangerous place, without his dog, risking his life for the sake of other humans. It was a good chance that he would run into those guys that had cut him up so badly back in Konoha. Why had he left Akamaru there? Surely the smelly man was in much less danger than he was...

A sudden flash to the north snapped the dog out of his bored misery. His huge white head whipped in the direction of the blinding light, trying to determine its source, type, and trajectory. The north was where Kiba and his friends had gone; if that bright light was unfriendly...

The light was suddenly followed by a booming noise, a sound like an entire village being eradicated by firebomb. It hurt Akamaru's ears, and he barked loudly in irritation at it on the off chance that it would hear him and shut up. This was definitely not the end to his boredom that he had wanted! It was horrible, awful! Worst of all, it could mean terrible trouble for Kiba!!

Yet as soon as it had come, the signs of whatever it was were completely gone. The forest returned instantly to the way it had been, as though nothing at all had happened. The birds continued singing, the sky became blue and clear again, and the smells went on being interesting. Even the annoying gnat-bugs returned, taking more shots at the big dog's eyes.

Akamaru did not bother to stop them; his animal brain was torn between following master's orders and ensuring master's safety. Either action could have possible ramifications, but which one was the best one to stay with? Poor Akamaru had no idea, and sat in his guard spot whimpering with concern.

The sound of the tent flap opening decided for him. The nin-dog turned his head to see the big, smelly man on his feet, staring off into the north the way that he had been a moment ago.

"I can move on my own," Jiraiya said. His voice was gravelly and heavy with fatigue, but Akamaru saw that he wasn't lying; despite apparent stiffness, he was apparently very much capable of locomotion.

"That thing," the smelly man went on. "I didn't know they could make it work without all nine of them. They failed to get Gaara because of Kakashi's work, Naruto is still sealed, and there's at least one more that they can't get to because of the war. Could they make it work with just six?"

Akamaru gave him a strange look and a puzzled noise. The dog was completely confused. Jiraiya looked over at him and gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry," he said. "They missed this time, or else we would be seeing a lot of smoke in that direction. Chances are they don't know the exact location of Orochimaru's place, and are blasting away down there randomly until they find something. That, and they probably can't destroy the whole place with one shot, even if they can make it work without the full nine. It'll be weaker, and they'll have to wait before they can shoot again. Your boy might be a little jolted at most right now, but he isn't dead."

Kiba wasn't dead, or even hurt? Akamaru looked back to the northern horizon, searching for any trace of the smoke that Jiraiya did not see. The dog's eyes did not see anything, either. It seemed as though the old, stinky human was right.

He hoped.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hiroto wanted to laugh at the wild boy's foolishness. He was a superior Hyuuga, even more so than most of the idiots back at the clan grounds in Konoha; there was no possibility at all of a smoke bomb stopping him from carrying out his threat. His vision might be clouded at a distance, but he could still see directly around him. The hostage was an easy kill, and the foolish boy's blind charge could be easily evaded; the footsteps were audible from the other end of the passage.

His kunai descended upon the child's head as the smoke completely engulfed him. The last thing that the thin and starved mother, sitting chained in the room to his side, saw was the glint of torchlight from the blade before the thick smog rendered her eyes useless. Hiroto smiled a triumphant smile that no one could see; with this death, he would drive his last opponent into despair.

... Or so he was thinking, before the massive shock wave jolted the entire facility, shaking him off of his balance and cracking the stone walls. He fought to keep his feet, staying his blade for the time being. He had good balance and could normally recover from such a thing easily, but normally he would be able to anticipate a tremor before it came. This tremor, though, came from some force outside his battle area, and not even his powerful Byakugan forewarned him. He fought for over two seconds to restore his stability on the floor.

Kiba, who ran on all four limbs using Shikyaku no Jutsu, kept his balance much better. The two seconds of instability on Hiroto's part were all that he needed to reach his target and his target's human shield on time. Seeing his dark, agile form among the clouds of smoke, Hiroto fumbled for the kunai. He made a wild stab downward in an effort to kill the child before the wild boy could get to him. If he lost the death of this child, he kept his opponent confident and would delay himself further.

The blade made a sick, wet sound as it plunged into flesh. Hiroto's grin returned; it seemed that he had barely been successful. The dog boy was on Hiroto, but his efforts had failed and his spirit would now break. Hiroto would quickly subdue him and be victorious.

... Or so he believed, before Kiba tore at him with a claw-like hand, ripping a huge gouge into the hand that held the kunai. Hiroto howled in pain and rage and threw a Jyuuken into Kiba's torso, knocking him away.

The mother in the next room had stopped crying; had that been the enemy expressing pain? As the smoke cleared, she could see a scene that was entirely different from what she had imagined. She brushed tangled, dark hair out of her eyes, trying to get a better look. She could scarcely believe her eyes!

It _was_ the enemy that had cried out in agony, and more than that! The steel-eyed evil man was clutching a mangled hand and glaring down the hall with palpable poison in his eyes. It was an _empty _mangled hand, one that no longer held the woman's child. She could not see the wild boy or the young one anywhere.

But the other white-eyed person, the one that was slumped against the wall, seemingly forgotten by the evil one, was visible. He was smiling as though in triumph. Apparently, something had gone very well.

Indeed, Kiba had done very well, though he had suffered for it. He had effectively stopped the death of his team leader, Neji, by turning Hiroto's attention onto him. In addition, the lucky earthquake had given him sufficient time to shield the innocent child. He, too, gave a weak smile, knowing that he had done all that he could. He had paid for it with a knife in his back and a terrible post-Jyuuken ache in his guts. He sat on the cracked stone floor with the unconscious child in his lap, leaking blood from his mouth and shoulder blade.

"You... you imbecile!" Hiroto roared. "You have only delayed the inevitable! I offered you a chance to live for the moment, perhaps to even leave this place alive, and still you defy me!" His wounded hand dripped blood from the deep wounds Kiba had inflicted, and its fingers did not move at all; Neji suspected that the claws had bodily severed some of the tendons. The other hand, however, was flaring with angry power. It pointed wrathfully at Kiba, itching to shoot arrows of subtle death.

"I will instead kill you now," he continued darkly, bringing the hand down and taking his Jyuuken stance. "When you are dead, your friend, Hinata-sama, will become my sacrifice, and she and all the others will join you in death! That child included!" He began advancing slowly towards them, and the child's mother could be heard whimpering.

_I'm sorry, lady, _Kiba said to himself. _I did what I could, and I at least gave the bastard a scar he'll never get rid of. This is our limit, though. Neji doesn't look like he can move much, and I feel like my insides are melting. We'll fight back as much as we can, but it doesn't look good._

The evil Hyuuga loomed over him and the child, his grin replaced by dark, murderous rage. The bloodied hand twitched angrily, yearning to join its healthy counterpart in strangling the insolent pup. However, the good hand was more than capable of killing on its own. Almost glowing with dreadful power and intent, it knifed downward, aimed as if to spear both the innocent child and the protector behind him.

In a last act of desperation, Kiba flipped forward onto his hands and knees, tucking the child underneath him. His back would shield the innocent one, at least for now. It could always be hoped that Hiroto would give up once he and Neji were gone. Maybe he would even throw the child back in with his mother in exasperation.

When Akamaru found him later, the dog would be able to smell what had happened, and would take his body home to Konoha. His mother and sister would at least be able to see his face one more time. Hinata and Shino would make sure that Akamaru was well cared for; he spent almost as much time with them as with his master, being on the same team, and there was a measure of attachment between them. All of Kiba's affairs were in order.

_And hopefully, _he thought as the extended hand collided with his spine, _we kept this asshole busy long enough to let the others get out safely..._

But when the knifing hand made contact, the only thing that Kiba felt was a slight bruising pain; there was no piercing chakra at all. He lifted his head, staring up at his attacker in mute amazement. Hiroto was still there, still breathing, still angry, and still had his good hand extended. However, he had not even come near to killing Kiba. The confusion that Kiba felt began to show on his face as he realized that the object of his rage was not dead.

Kiba's confusion, unlike Hiroto's, lasted only a moment. Before he had blinked twice, he picked up the faint, familiar smell that accompanied the chakra-eaters and, not long after that, he saw a few of the Kikai bugs crawling around the shoulder of the enemy's robe. He understood that he was saved.

"Shino!" he yelled. "Perfect timing. You just get here?"

The bug host stepped out of the shadows, arms swinging loosely at his sides without the pockets of his jacket to contain them. He appeared somewhat battered, seemed to be using fewer bugs than normal, his pants were holed through in places, and his torso was completely bare, but he was otherwise alive and very well. In fact, he was the healthiest one in the corridor at this moment.

"It seems that you were lucky that I chanced upon you," he said quietly. "I have never seen you so badly positioned in a battle. This will repay my debt from that time in the tavern two years ago..."

"So, you whelps had reinforcements, did you?" Hiroto growled, turning on Shino. "It makes no difference in the end. You are all going to die here, once the power that I have been given is unleashed."

"You are currently incapable of using any power you may need," Shino countered. "You made a mistake in assuming that I was dead, and another in being taunted into blindness by Kiba. My bugs continue to eat your chakra as we speak; any attack using chakra will end in failure."

It was only then that Hiroto seemed to realize there was anything on him. He turned around once, looking over his shoulder. His back was briefly exposed to Kiba, who was not surprised to see a mass of insects clinging to the fabric of the robe.

Neji found the strength to stand up, and did so somewhat shakily. He straightened himself as best as he could, attempting to regain some sense of authority. Hiroto turned to him with loathing in his eyes.

"I know what you mean to say," the former Captain growled, "And I will have none of it! I will not surrender to children with no sense of retribution!" His healthy hand moved as he spoke, causing Neji and Shino to brace themselves for an attack. The attack, however, was not directed at either of them or at Kiba; instead he tore open a small packet of powder, which burst free into the surrounding air in a blast of dark purple smoke.

Shino recognized that particular type. "Don't inhale it!" he shouted at the others, holding his breath at the same time. He ordered his bugs to escape as well, lest they be killed in the dark cloud. Hiroto had apparently stolen some of the spores from the paralyzing, insecticidal flowers that Ayaka grew. He held his own breath and hunkered down, waiting for the attack to come through the smoke.

That ambush never happened. When the smoke cleared a few seconds later, Hiroto was completely gone.

"Huh?" Kiba said from the floor, taking his hand away from the child's nose and mouth. "He ran? I don't believe it! After spouting all that about annihilating..."

A coughing interrupted his tirade; the child that he had saved had been awakened by the momentary deprivation of air due to Kiba's shielding against the gas. The wild nin leaped to his feet, grabbing the child under the arms and lifting him into a standing position.

"It's obvious where he ran to," Neji said, glancing at the floor. "His injury bled a path in that direction, and we can follow the trail easily until he bandages it. By that time, we should be able to smell him."

"Will you order us to pursue him, then?" Shino asked.

Neji's eyes went to Kiba. The wild one was helping the child to stand and walk even as he struggled to walk against his own injuries, guiding him gently to the cell where the mother would be found. He gave a small smile at the sight; it seemed that though Kiba had found his resolve to fight in that situation, he hadn't lost his weakness for soft targets. It was as though he were trying to redeem himself for his prior mistake by making up for it now.

"Not yet," Neji told Shino. "Even if we found him, there is little chance we could defeat him without losses, as injured as we are. Since Sakura is not here, our efforts are better put to use in treating ourselves and freeing any more non-combatants that we can find. If the rumbling from a while ago was any indication, this facility may not be here very long."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Neji was not the only one who was disturbed by the huge tremor. Sakura felt it as well while she descended the earthen steps, having to windmill her arms momentarily to keep her balance. Gamakichi had better control with his four legs, but the quake caught Gamatatsu mid-leap, altering his intended landing space and causing him to hit the dirt floor face-first.

"Ite!" he spouted.

"Oy, Gamatatsu!" snapped the red brother in a hushed tone. "You already got us caught in one trap today. Don't bring the whole place running after us!"

"Could both of you please stop that?" Sakura asked, mimicking Gamakichi's tone, if at a greater volume. "Your accidents slow us down a little, but coupled with your arguing, it slows us down too much. Just be quiet and try to watch your step."

Gamakichi quickly realized the wisdom in her request, checked himself, and fell silent. Gamatatsu, though he looked a little hurt, did not return any argument and followed after them quietly. Miraculously, he had no more incidents for a record six minutes.

The talk, however, did not cease.

"That quake felt different from the other ones," Gamakichi said. "Like it was farther away, but bigger. You think Naruto's gonna be all right?"

"Hinata-chan is with him," Sakura replied, "And they should have Keisuke-san in their grasp by now; if he's healthy enough to fight, he will help keep them safe."

"And if he isn't, he'll drag them down," the red frog pointed out.

Sakura's head remained elevated and her eyes focused forward. "If one of Naruto's friends is in trouble or injured, that will only increase his drive to win on their behalf. I'm not worried about Keisuke-san slowing them too much."

"I agree with that," Gamakichi said. "But after a blast like that, I can't say I'm totally secure about this. What the hell could it have been, anyway?"

Sakura was about to answer that she had no idea, but she was interrupted by Gamatatsu taking another fall. Gamakichi sighed but, remembering the discussion following the last one, did not chide his brother. Instead, he hopped over to where the yellow frog had landed on his back and pushed him onto his front with a heavy—if squishy and frog-like—smack of his foreleg. Gamatatsu was righted and immediately showed interest in the ground where he had fallen, too easily distracted to thank his brother.

"Ne, Gamakichi-niichan," he said, staring with potentially deadly curiosity downward, "This place is starting to get really messy. Somebody tracked dirt everywhere!"

Both Gamakichi and Sakura stopped walking, and Gamakichi's foreleg smacked his own head. Apparently, somebody had forgotten to point out to the idiot that this tunnel was underground and that the floor and walls were _made_ from dirt. He moved in front of his brother and slammed his foreleg in the dirt before Gamatatsu's face, intending to give him a serious talking-to. Who cared if they got slowed down? This sheer stupidity could not be forgiven.

But when his foreleg landed in something other than plain dirt, he bit back his angry tirade. He peered down to see his foot planted in something dark, wet, and somewhat sticky. Gamatatsu was still dumb, but he could at least tell the difference between the solid floor and a filth upon it that was out of place. More than that, his stupidity might have actually helped them this time around.

"That's blood," Gamakichi said. "Somebody bled here, and not too long ago." Gamatatsu stood nearby, looking pleased at himself for having found something useful.

"Let me see," Sakura said, bending down to join them. A quick inspection told her all she needed to know. "Blood," she confirmed. "It's human blood, too, and probably not more than ten minutes old."

"Think it's somebody we know?" Gamakichi asked.

"If it is," said Sakura, rising to her full height again, "Let's hope it's someone that we know and don't like; if they're bleeding this much and don't have a bandage to put on it, they're going to be very weak—if not dead—when we find them."

Picking up on the "_when_ we find them," Gamakichi immediately started down the hallway at full speed. The blood went in two different directions—one leading straight away from them, the other down a side hall to their right—but such was no problem to an amphibian like him. He simply followed the way which felt more moist, which he knew would be where the blood was freshest. Sakura followed his lead and, after a moment of sitting around in confusion, so did Gamatatsu.

Sakura ran through a list in her mind which included all of the possible people that they might find down here. Very high on that list was Naruto and Hinata, who had been descending to the lower levels to look for Keisuke, but she hoped that neither of them was bleeding that badly. Equally high was Keisuke himself, who was not likely to be feeling well after being Orochimaru's toy for a few days. Shino followed them, as he had become separated from the group only shortly before Sakura had. Kiba and Neji were last among her friends to be expected down here; they had originally been climbing up to the command level of the facility.

There were plenty of enemies that she could expect to find here, as well. Kabuto she had defeated, but he was not the only one that could be here by a long shot. It was impossible to know how many surviving Sound were here, and though it was unlikely that he would be skulking around here, it could be Orochimaru in the throes of body rejection as well. And of course, there was always the possibility of _him_ hanging around...

The hall got darker and rockier as they progressed, and more and more Sakura had to rely on the frogs' senses to follow the blood trail. It eventually came to the point where she couldn't see anything at all, and was forced to follow the sound of their footsteps. They continued on in this manner, running with all the speed they could use safely, until Gamakichi halted suddenly and Gamatatsu slammed into his back.

"Geez, frog!" Gamakichi exclaimed as he shoved his yellow brother off of him, "Watch it!"

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked. "Why did you stop?"

"There's no more blood going this way," Gamakichi explained. "Either they're really good at first aid, or they disappeared at this spot."

"Gamakichi-niichan," sighed Gamatatsu, "There's a reeeeeeeaally nice draft coming from over here..."

"A door?" Sakura began feeling around the nearby walls. In a moment, she located the handle and turned it, throwing open the door without a second thought. Light from the room beyond flooded the hallway, and Sakura could see once more.

She wasn't quite sure that she wanted to see this, though. Soft multicolored light emanated from elegant crystal formations that adorned the walls of the small chamber, making for an eerie sort of illumination. There was nothing else remarkable about the dirt-and-stone room other than the large, gaping hole in the back wall that might have been an emergency escape route. However, in front of that tunnel was...

"... Orochimaru," Sakura practically hissed.

"... Or what's left of him," Gamakichi added. "I'm no doctor, but I can tell you that that is definitely a corpse right there. Nothing alive in it at all."

The young red frog was right. The body of Orochimaru was paler than usual and unmoving upon the ground, its hair splayed out underneath it and a cry of what seemed to be simultaneous glee and horror on its face. While as ugly as usual, it was most definitely dead, and Sakura felt no fearful presence from it.

"That explains the explosion," Sakura said, sounding somewhat numb. "Orochimaru took his new body and is probably using it against our friends right now." _Uchiha Sasuke is dead forever, died without a friend by his side, died in the name of revenge. Orochimaru has the Sharingan. Naruto and Hinata and everyone else are in huge trouble..._

"Hey, there's another one here!" exclaimed Gamatatsu suddenly. "They look sort of dead, too... but this one's still warm and its kind of breathing..."

"What?" Sakura said startled. _It couldn't be...!_

It wasn't. The form leaning unconscious from blood loss against the side of the earthen chamber was not Uchiha Sasuke nor anything like him. It was a voluptuous female in tight-fitting clothes and with a poorly-bandaged, bloody shoulder. She had oak-colored hair and a pale complexion, and beneath the eyelids Sakura knew that the irises were green.

"It's _her,_" Sakura said, taking a step back in disgust at the memory of what had been done to her. She was sorely tempted to simply leave this girl here to die. "What the hell is she doing _here?_"

Then, however, her conscience checked her; it would be wrong of her to simply leave another kunoichi to die alone, even if she was an enemy. Judging from her position, it seemed likely that she had witnessed the event that had taken place here as well, so there could definitely be some vital information in her...

Sakura knelt beside the other ninja and began to take a look at the wounds. This was ultimately best for both of them; she would heal the "mistress" and make her serve _her _needs. There was no need to let a potential wealth of information die, even if she was a bitch who took over Sakura's mind and tried to take Hinata away.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

All eyes were turned to the inanimate replica that lay on the floor. It was small and would have been hardly noticeable in a fast-paced ninja battle, yet now it had halted all combat between the two teams that stood on either side of it. Every person had their own reasons for stopping to look; Yondaime's immortalized image meant different things to each set of eyes that beheld it.

For Hinata, it was the center of the last prank that Haruka had pulled on her and Naruto. That was quite and awkward memory, but why was this thing showing up here? Her ready stance became looser as she stared at it curiously.

For Naruto, it was the symbol of hope that had surfaced after Haruka's disappearance, the thing that had given him hope for her survival. When he had discovered it missing, he had felt a bad omen was upon him—he now knew exactly what that omen was about. He regarded the statuette on the floor with a mix of dismay and anger. He could remember Sasuke's words from several days back... _By the time this is over, some of your friends might not be your friends anymore._

_Damn it,_ he thought, _I should have taken that warning seriously._

To Keisuke, who had never seen the thing before, it was just an ordinary piece of junk. He only held off from rejoining the battle because of his partner's odd reaction. He glanced at Haruka with a puzzled expression on his face, questioning her silently.

Haruka knew the statuette as both a symbol of her last prank and as a message given to her by the Uchiha Avenger. The message could have been interpreted in several ways, but she had been certain that it was at least related to Naruto. In fact, she was pretty sure it meant either "Naruto is alive" or "Naruto is dead." Either one was plausible, but...

"Haruka-neechan, how did you get that?" Naruto asked, surprised. He pointed at the thing for emphasis.

Haruka, of course, did not understand him thanks to the black aura that shrouded him, and the message reached her ears as "Ibsvlb-offdibo, ipx eje zpv hfu uibu?" However, the arm motion and the questioning (if way too deep and gravelly to be human) tone were unmistakable. The black person-thing was inquisitive about the trinket.

"Haruka," Keisuke asked, "What do you think this means?"

In answer, Haruka pointed to the statuette and spoke to the black-shrouded Naruto. "You want this?"

Naruto's eyes widened at her seeming change in attitude. Could this be a chance to negotiate with them, to try to make them understand? He peered over at Hinata, who was watching things unfold with cautious interest. Silently, he read her expression as "try it, but be careful." He smiled; she was a smart girl, realizing that there was still danger even if there was a chance to end it this way. It was great to have someone like that looking out for his well-being. He gave her a nod, then turned back to Haruka and Keisuke.

"Yes," he said loudly and clearly, pointing at the statuette once again and nodding vigorously.

"Zft," Haruka heard. She went over and picked the figure up, holding it loosely in her right hand while keeping her eyes on Naruto.

"Well, well," she said, "It looks like they can at least understand us, Keisuke. I'll take that as a yes. What do you think, should I give it to them?"

"It could be a bomb or some other trap inside there," Keisuke pointed out. "They might have been waiting for us to set it off accidentally, but it would be easier if we handed it to them and let them set it off directly, wouldn't it? It did come from that Sasuke character after all..."

"Sasuke?" Naruto echoed with an urgent tone. He took three steps forward involuntarily, surprised to hear that. If Sasuke had given it to Haruka—which would explain why the statuette had gone missing from his pack in the first place—then the thing might very well have been part of a trap.

Hinata stepped forward after him, motioning towards Haruka with great sweeps of criss-crossing arms and a negative shake of the head. "That's not it," she insisted. "We didn't put any traps in there."

Haruka watched them both with a contemplative look. The Hyuuga shade was making the movements that she had expected, obviously attempting to vehemently deny any evil tampering with the figurine. The male one, however, was behaving curiously; he actually looked to be surprised, and seemed to want to know more about her theory. Could it be that these were no ordinary evil shades? What was it that was beneath that dark shroud?

Geez, this was going to give her a headache. First that unbearable wait and now all this confusion...

"Here's the deal," she said, looking between the shades and Keisuke. "I'll give it to you, but since I'm in a particularly bad mood right now, I'm going to make you work for it. There are only two reasons that you could possibly want this thing; either you've got a trap in here like sukebe-Keisuke thinks, or you're two of our friends that we somehow can't see and you want to use this to prove who you are."

Naruto pumped his fist in the air and nodded enthusiastically, while Hinata gave a relieved sigh and relaxed her stance even more, though she did not remove her eyes from either Haruka or Keisuke.

Keisuke, however, had a different opinion. "The second theory can't be right. If they were friendlies, either the Byakugan or the Reiude would have seen through that blackness. All I felt when I touched them with the Arms was a sense of evil and killing intent."

"Your Arms also can't tell what his Arms are doing," countered Haruka. "Did you lose your sense of imagination while staring at my ass, or what?"

Keisuke's face gained in color and his eyebrows slanted angrily, but he did not have an immediate comeback. He turned away from her, silently relenting, and went back to watching the shades carefully in much the same manner that Hinata was watching him.

"So if there aren't any more objections from mindless perverts," Haruka said, making Keisuke snort somewhat haughtily, "I'll get this over with. You there!"

Naruto straightened when Haruka pointed at him. What was she going to do to test him?

"The pose that I had the statue make when I played the prank on you. Imitate it," she commanded.

Naruto froze up. Was she freaking serious? He remembered the image produced by Haruka's genjutsu all those nights ago and, if that was the one she meant, then he seriously did not want to do that in front of Hinata—especially because Hinata would know that it was _her_ he had seen making that pose.

"Can't do it?" Haruka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sh-shit," Naruto said. "Niichan's nickname for you really is the right one." He gulped down air, hoping to god that he wouldn't die later. He bent over and raised a finger to his lower lip, hunching his shoulders slightly so that if he had had Hinata's chest, a man watching from across the street would have had his nose erupt. His other hand moved onto his own backside in a provocative manner. It was a good thing, he realized, that the shroud was covering him; if he were looking like himself, he would look pretty damned ridiculous to his surrogate siblings.

Keisuke stared at him with his jaw agape and Hinata staggered, nearly falling over as she imagined herself posing like that. Naruto winced in embarrassment. All was in chaos... just as Haruka intended.

"Now then," she said, smirking maniacally, "To the other one. I want you to do what you were doing to a certain blond kid in a certain tent a few nights before we got into that neutral town... No, forget that; just progress to what you've been _meaning_ to do to him in a tent since the trip started. You know, the thing with the handcuffs and the condoms..."

Now Hinata really _did _fall over. Naruto and Keisuke watched her topple with wide eyes and a serious question on their minds.

_Hinata-chan was going to use handcuffs on me?! Have I really kept her waiting THAT long?!_

_Is the Sadist Gene in ALL of my descendants, kept hidden from normal people? Was Haruka banished for exposing the secret? My god... The evil that I have unleashed on this world..._

Haruka fought to keep from laughing. It was no longer negotiation; it had become much-needed entertainment for the victim-starved Sadist. It was rapidly becoming clear that the shades were not enemies.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The former Captain staggered into the control room above the "stadium." His blood dripped onto several of the consoles as he passed them, flowing steadily out of his terribly mangled hand. He was beginning to feel heavy, as well; the combination of blood loss and having a good amount of his chakra eaten by Kikai bugs was taking its toll. All of that, and still he had not procured a sacrifice.

It didn't matter. The Hyuuga would all die anyway.

He watched and listened on the monitors that peered into the enclosure. The two pairs were not fighting as he had hoped for, or perhaps they had been fighting and had now seen through the black mask somehow. That should have been impossible...

"All right," Haruka was saying, "Tell us..."

"Hold it," The Great Father interrupted. "You're going to slander me next, I can tell. This time, it's my turn... tell us, where does Haruka get to whenever we go out drinking?"

The Kyuubi kid, who had created a mass of Kage Bunshins, used a display of masterful acrobatics and coordination to spell out the word **N-O-W-H-E-R-E **in human bodies. A smug smile found its way onto the Father's face, but Haruka's smile only widened.

"Not bad, partner," she said. "That almost stung a little. Probably would have been more effective if what happened back in the cell didn't happen..."

"Hey," said the Father. "What happens in Orochimaru's prison _stays_ in Orochimaru's prison."

"But," Haruka said, addressing the Kyuubi child again, "Where does Keisuke always end up?"

The bunshins moved again, creating a different response: **T-R-A-S-H-C-A-N.**

Haruka burst into laughter, along with a number of the shadow clones, while the Father grew a large scowl and declined to say anything. Hiroto was tempted to smile at that; he had always been somewhat fond of Haruka and her playful, sadistic behavior, and had hoped that after her exile she would have shared his thoughts towards the clan. Yet, she had chosen to side with the Great Father and the Kyuubi's container, and having the Sadist turned against him was more troublesome than having the Sadist siding with him would be beneficial.

"It is regrettable that I must destroy you," he said, though she wouldn't hear him. "I had planned to at least make you the container for our Lady, but that is impossible under the current circumstances."

He used his good hand to draw out a small scroll from his robe. It was an old scroll, one that might have fallen apart centuries ago if not for good and special care. It's edges were trimmed in gold, and when it was opened, the paper was revealed to be black and the ink was a sickly yellow.

"My fathers before me," Hiroto mused to himself, "Have wanted to use this for generations. Yet two factors prevented us. First, the Main Family was far too strong, and would have ended her as quickly as they had the first time. Second, we did not know the spell that would make it work; the writing is in a language that is ancient and forgotten amongst us.

"But now, the Main Family is weakened, and Orochimaru has graciously derived and taught me the forgotten technique. It is regrettable that I am unable to gain hold of another container for the Great Mother, but if I must give my own life, then that is what I will do."

He peered at the monitor again, saw the last of the laughter die down.

"Laugh while you can," he said, wiping his blood across the scroll. "Soon, you, the Hyuuga, and all of Konoha will no longer remember what happiness is."

OoOoOoOo Kill-Joy no Jutsu! End Chapter Twenty-One. OooOoOoO

**Next Chapter: **I'm going to miss you guys soooo much. Monday morning will be the last time any message will ever reach me, so if you have something to say, say it now or I won't get it until I'm done with Boot Camp.

I love you all. /cry


	24. C22: Fatal Memory

**A/N: **To those of you who have waited so patiently, I extend my sincerest apologies and thanks. Today marks the rebirth of this story, an event in which I take pride, considering the effort required to earn free time in this place. I hope you all can still enjoy it after waiting this long.

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Fatal Memory**

A brilliant flash of red, followed by a crackling, splitting pain as the ground rushed up to collide with her head. She was unsure as to why she had lost her balance or why she was unable to regain it, but there was no way that she could have fought it—even had she been at her greatest level of strength, she realized, so overwhelming and compelling was the red power. Under its will, she could only lie helpless in the depths of her own mind and watch her body fall, shutting down around her.

She was awakened what seemed like only moments later as a warm, slightly ticklish feeling spread through her. The feeling began at her wound and flooded into and through her, suffusing her with vitality. No longer did she feel pain, and the loss of blood did not cause her any faintness. Immediately she knew that she was being healed through medical ninjutsu, but who would come to heal her was a complete mystery; Orochimaru's medical specialists would all have fled the building by now, and the Cloud wouldn't know where she was at this point. So who would it be? She had a suspicion, but if it was true, then...

Ayaka opened her eyes to stare into the dark, dirty determined, and _very_ unhappy face of Haruno Sakura. Her suspicions confirmed, she allowed herself to show a little emotion, and let her head droop in both exasperation and humility. She did not have to try to move to know that the other girl had utilized special medicine to paralyze her arms and legs. Sakura had caught her, and she was now at the medic's complete mercy.

The situation was ironic, but Sakura did not seem to care to discuss irony. Her face held no malice, despite her obvious anger, and Ayaka could see that she was not taking any pleasure in the role reversal, either. That was something that the plant user could appreciate. Most tended to become feverishly happy when they had a chance to pay back one who violated them, and Ayaka had not enjoyed wiping those smiles away. Though, in this situation, retaliation would be impossible...

"Tell me what you saw," demanded Sakura firmly. Ayaka's eyes blinked as she was pulled out of her thoughts.

"You don't intend to kill me?" she asked quietly, ignoring the demand.

"You're not in a position to ask me questions," Sakura said, her face showing no change. Then she reiterated, "Tell me what you saw."

"Aburame Shino told me that you would heal me," Ayaka mused. "I told him that you would sooner help me commit ritual suicide. Yet he has proven to be right, once again. Or is it that the 'role' that the dark one wishes me to play was conceived by you and your group, rather than by himself?"

This time Sakura was caught off guard. "Dark one?" she asked. "What do mean, 'role'? Tell me who you're talking about... is it Orochimaru or...?"

"The one who traveled with your group," Ayaka clarified. "He was the one who killed Kouhei-sempai."

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sakura said, identifying the dark one by name. "You saw him here? Where did he go? Was he acting differently from when you saw him with us? Did he..." her sentence cut off as she looked over her shoulder at the black-haired corpse behind her.

"I encountered him after my fight against your Aburame comrade," Ayaka confirmed. "He was able to know the outcome of that battle within an instant of seeing me. He told me to survive and return to my clan—a command for which I cannot determine any sensible reason, considering the nature of the giver. I thought perhaps that he might have been speaking on behalf of Aburame or Uzumaki, since they are of a more forgiving nature, but it does not make sense for a prisoner to aid his warden, either."

Sakura turned her head back forward to look at her again, perplexed. Sasuke had told this Cloud nin to escape and go home? Was that part of Orochimaru's agenda? It hardly seemed likely for the Snake Sennin to feel the need to keep such insignificant pawns alive. Did Sasuke have his own side plans?

"None of us thought of that, except maybe Shino, since he let you go," the medic said. "Did he tell you anything else?"

"He told me that Hikaru is dead," Ayaka said simply. Her emerald gaze held very little regret.

"I'm sorry," Sakura offered, more for the sake of protocol than Ayaka's grief. "What happened next?"

"I believed that he was going to find one of the stronger shinobi within the facility. I had pollen traces on both Hiroto and Orochimaru, and followed the nearest one down to this level. Eventually, I found the entrance to this chamber, and heard voices within. They spoke of a transfer, a change of containers, some matter which I did not comprehend..."

"Orochimaru's body transfer," Sakura clarified. "He is an old shinobi who dreams of being immortal, but his "immortality" requires him to steal the bodies of other people every three years." She fixedated intently on Ayaka, wanting to hear the complete truth. "Did they do the transfer here?"

Ayaka's green eyes closed, their owner beginning to tire of this complicated matter. "I am unsure of what I saw," she said. "I felt an intense buildup of chakra within this room, and then something from outside made the earth shake. Distracted, I could barely determine anything of what actually went on. I thought that I could hear someone within the room screaming and felt a large chakra flare, but I could not confirm it."

Sakura's face fell, exasperation and anger beginning to show through. "So that's all that you saw? You blacked out after that?"

Ayaka opened her eyes and shook her head. "No. When the tremor was over and the chakra flare and noise had stopped, I entered the chamber to see what had happened. I saw the room as it is now for a few brief seconds—the corpse and the tunnel behind it—but then something red flashed at me, and I fell here and lost consciousness."

"Something red..." Sakura thought aloud. "Could it have been his eyes?"

"The eyes of the dark one?" Ayaka questioned. "Possibly; although, I did not see the shuriken pattern of his pupils. When did they obtain that shape, and the sense of power that accompanied it? Does he gain power through killing powerful ones like Kouhei-sempai? That may be the reason why Orochimaru's corpse lies there behind you."

Sakura's expression was immediately attentive again. "Shuriken? He never had eyes like that when he was with us. But then, he left us as soon as he'd beaten your leader. What in the world...?"

Then something dawned on her. The entire team had been bewildered by the fact that Sasuke had saved their lives and then fled them. It had been a huge contradiction; to preserve the ones who had kept him prisoner, when they would all die anyway once his body had been given to the sinister Orochimaru. However, if his eyes had changed and he had become more powerful—if he had gained the great and terrible power that his older brother gained before him—then it might not have been necessary to do the body transfer at all. If that were the case, then Orochimaru's mind may have died with the body.

If that were the case, and Sasuke had not killed the others back in the forest...

"He isn't the dark one that killed your leader, not anymore," Sakura said. "Whether the body transfer succeeded or not, a new mind is walking in the body of Uchiha Sasuke. We need to find out what kind of mind it is, or we might risk letting thousands of people die."

"Then you are going to pursue him?" Ayaka asked, her voice rising in bewilderment. "You cannot! The power that accumulated in this room... you will be detected before you even realize that you are following the correct trail, and if you fight, you will be destroyed in an instant..."

Another blast sent chunks of the ceiling crashing down around them, giving her pause. It seemed to Ayaka to be closer than the last one had been.

"And you are going to come with me. Would you rather stay down here?" Sakura questioned. She pricked the plant user with a needle, injecting the antidote to the paralyzing agent. She did not fear any retaliation; it was obvious that even though she was healed, Ayaka was stripped almost completely of any weapons. It was also clear, from her easy cooperation, that she had no intention of being delayed from escaping.

"Admittedly not," she replied. "The dark one also spoke of some type of weapon belonging to Orochimaru's enemies. If my intuition is correct, then that is the source of the tremors."

"Then let's not waste any more time," Sakura said. "I sent Gamakichi and Gamatatsu ahead to make sure the tunnel was clear. Since they haven't come back yet, I think we can assume there isn't anything blocking the way. You should be able to move by now." She stood up and offered her former prisoner a hand up.

Ayaka found that she was right; the tingling feeling had stopped, and her limbs obeyed her once again even if they were tired. She took the hand and rose up to her own feet. Though the pink-haired medic might have despised her, it was clear that they had similar goals now; neither one wanted to remain in this collapsing hole in the ground any longer, and Ayaka did want to find out what the dark one had meant by "her role."

"Let us hope that the earthquakes have not placed any new obstruction since your allies' departure," she said.

Sakura looked boldly into the black depths of the tunnel, and pulled her glove more tightly onto her hand.

"If there is one," she said, "It won't hold us up for very long."

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Damn, those crazy quakes are getting worse and worse!" Kiba yelled over the noise, shielding the two children he carried with his body against the falling debris. Their little arms clung to him desperately, begging nonverbally to protect them. Kiba heard their pleas and answered with all the strength he could, even though that strength was leaking away through his wounds.

Shino's insects formed a protective barrier over Neji and the others that they had rescued on their way out. They now totaled nine; three shinobi, three adults, one teenage boy, and the two children—a boy and girl—that were now under Kiba's personal protection. They had left the prison level a short while ago, thanks to Shino's guidance, but the tremors had produced a number of obstructions on the rock-lined path, making progress slower than they had anticipated. This delay made the non-combatants visibly nervous, and their near-panic was spreading onto Kiba. Only Neji and Shino remained cool-headed, and Neji was not in any condition to take effective action. They could only count on Shino to lead them out of danger.

The present tremor died out, and the children quieted some. One of the adult men gave a gasp of relief, and the mother of the young boy sobbed heavily as she gave thanks for their continued life. Kiba, however, was in no less of a hurry.

"Come on, Shino!" he urged. "This one's over with, let's move!"

Shino wordlessly sent his bugs to work on clearing the rubble that had fallen around them, turning to face his anxious comrade. "The tremors are indeed getting larger as you thought, Kiba. As a result, they are producing greater obstructions. This one will take a few minutes to clear away with what is left of my hive."

Neji immediately detected a spike in Kiba's anger and chakra level. "Kiba!" he yelled, "Don't try to clear it yourself. You'll only...!"

"To hell with that!" Kiba barked back, setting down the two children and bringing his hands into claws. "The 'few minutes' that you need won't be half over by the time the next quake comes around! I'm not letting us _or_ these people die down here!"

He hurled himself forward in a violent spinning motion, attacking the blockage despite the pain of his injuries. His clawed hands struck the fallen earth, grinding it to dust in seconds. Dirt flew backwards around the rest of the party, and Shino redirected his insects to keep any of it from flying into them. When the dust cleared, Kiba lay panting in the middle of the cleared path, bleeding freshly from the knife wound in his back.

"Damn him," Neji said to himself, too exhausted to reprimand his teammate. "Now _I _will have to carry _him_, and our progress might be slower yet with another injured person..."

"My insects can carry one person," Shino offered.

"No," Neji said, "You need your kikai bugs to protect us from debris and to clear the way ahead. I will have to..."

But even as he spoke, two small bodies rushed past Neji towards the ailing Kiba. They reached him quickly and used four small hands to pull him up onto his knees in a kneeling position. One of them took Kiba's canteen out of his pack and held it up to Kiba's mouth, making him drink the water that was left.

"I can walk," he said, taking a quick swig and replacing the canteen in its place. He stepped forward, seemingly unaffected by his aggravated injury...

...and fell after taking only three steps. The two children caught him just before he impacted the ground, straining their tiny muscles to keep him from damaging himself any more. They didn't want the nice man who had saved them to die down here.

The teenage boy and one of the adults, a tall, well-built man in his late thirties, stepped forward. "We'll carry him," said the older man. Together, they went and relieved the two children, each one supporting one of Kiba's arms over his shoulders, and began to walk forward. The rest of the party followed.

Even as he went with them, Neji looked on in astonishment. A few days ago, Kiba had made an enemy out of one woman for the death of a child that was not his fault. Now, he was determined to the point of killing himself to never let it happen again, and these people recognized him as a hero. He let a smile creep onto his face, despite the seriousness of the situation. It was good to see the younger ones develop this way. Perhaps he would put in a good word to the jounin exam proctors for Kiba when they made it home.

Those pleasant thoughts scattered as a loud crash was heard and the next tremor started. Neji brought his good arm up and expelled as much chakra as he could from his palm, blasting the initial debris over the party's heads. The Hakke Kushou gave the two children time to find cover while Shino's bugs deployed back into their shield formation.

The insects made it not a moment too soon, either; this tremor, while not the largest that they had felt, brought the heaviest rain of debris that they had seen yet. Thousands of pounds of dirt and rock fell in four large waves, and not even the kikai bugs could prevent a few small stones and streams of coarse dust from falling onto them. Neji and the civilians ducked and covered their heads while Shino worked tirelessly to preserve them all. The hellish ordeal seemed to go on forever, and both the children and the adults cried out in terror.

Eventually, however, the terrible rain ceased, leaving only dust and... was that sunlight? Neji opened his eyes to find that the passage had brightened considerably, and several of his companions, including Shino, were staring straight up. His own gaze shifted the same direction, confirming his suspicions; the dirt ceilings and floors for some distance in front of them had been severely weakened by the previous tremors, and had now entirely collapsed. Several tons of dirt lay in heaps on all sides of them, and the blue sky was directly over their heads.

"Kiba's haste saved us from being trapped behind this," Shino said, looking behind Neji and the others to the mass of rubble there. Indeed, the trail behind them was completely caved in, and the long strip of sky did not extend far in that direction.

"Thank heavens," the civilian woman said, gathering her child into her arms. Her teary eyes regarded the sleeping Kiba with admiration.

"That boy is a real hero," said a young, thin man to her left. The others all nodded in agreement. Neji was simultaneously proud of his friend and happy that he had not heard those words. When he was healthy, should he hear of this, he might let it go to his head.

"Let's get out of here," he said. "We may not have another chance like this."

Shino nodded in assent, and took hold of the mother and child, leaping up with them to the top of the crater. Neji, though hurt, managed to jump out with the little girl. Shino's insects carried out the remaining three people in turns. Within two minutes, they all stood a safe distance from the lip of the crater, panting in exhaustion and drinking water to cool themselves in the sudden hot weather.

Neji made certain that everyone was safe, and then put what little chakra he had left into his Byakugan, using his superior vision to look out across the Grave. He was searching for any sign of whatever it was that was causing those tremors; having been subjected to so many of them, all of roughly the same duration, he knew that it was no natural occurrence. The many craters that he saw confirmed that theory. Something had been punching into the desert soil repeatedly and with great force.

"Wow," exclaimed the teenager, looking around. "What could've made all those holes?"

Neji was about to answer that he didn't know, but he was interrupted by a sudden intensity in the desert sun above. Squinting, he looked up to see what was happening.

His jaw almost dropped at the sight of the giant beam of multicolored light that fell from the sky and struck the ground just a couple of miles away. It was so bright that it nearly blinded him, and he had to shut off his Byakugan against the pain. The civilians cried out in surprise and horror, watching the earth erupt underneath that incredible force.

The noise awakened Kiba, who sat bolt upright and snapped his hand to his weapon pouch. "What the hell was that?!"

Neji's face was grim as he answered, "Something that makes me hope that I will see my cousin again."

OoOoOoOoOoO

"So," Haruka asked, walking up the black shade nearest her, "Why do you look like this? I know it's cute for couples to dress alike these days, but I think you've taken it a little too far in this case."

The shade—who was really Hinata—made little show of being ecstatic about being referred to as a couple with Naruto before they were officially dating. Instead, she retreated a few steps and seemed to shrink inside her black covering. The result was a black shade that looked to be a comical combination of cute and evil—something which amused Haruka greatly. This was almost as fun as whipping the crap out of Keisuke!

Speaking of whom...

"Hey, sukebe-Keisuke, come here. I want to show..."

"Haruka!" Keisuke yelled suddenly, "Look behind you!"

Haruka turned just in time to see the wave of chakra hurtling towards her, but not fast enough to do anything about it except raise her arms in front of her body in defense. Luckily for her, the wave was not intended to hurt her; all it wanted was the strange ring on her finger, which it grabbed and yanked away easily as it retreated up into the ceiling.

"Huh?" she said, looking up at where it had gone. "Hey, that was mine!"

The ring disappeared into a hole in the roof of the arena that had not been there a few moments ago. Had it been an illusory wall? Haruka focused her Byakugan to try to see up inside, but all she saw was dark.

"Whoa, what is that up there? Can you see anyone, Hinata?"

"Naruto?" Keisuke asked, looking over at the shades. Certainly enough, the illusion of blackness had vanished, and he could see and understand him and Hinata clearly. He smiled; this was the first time he'd seen the "kids" that he liked so well with his own eyes. "Good to see you, kid."

"Hey, niichan," Naruto said, winking. "You can see us now? Where'd you get the eyes?"

"A gift from our most gracious host," the once-blind man replied, giving off a sign of momentary disgust. "It feels really good to be away from him. Somehow it feels like I'll never have to deal with him again, but it's probably me just being ecstatic over my freedom... Is there anyone up there, Haruka, Hinata?"

"No," Hinata answered, shaking her head.

"Damn it, I can't see them!" Haruka said. "They took my ring, damn it! They're probably the ones who were screwing with us with their shadow-form illusion crap..."

"Actually, Haruka," yelled a voice from the hole, "This ring belongs to me..."

The darkness covering the insides of the hole compressed, seeming to form into the outline of a man. It fell down towards them, causing Keisuke, Naruto, and Hinata to leap back in defensive instinct. Haruka stood her ground, angered at the voice; she was almost certain that she knew who it was, and she was determined to repay her debt to him. He landed gracefully in the dirt, where he let the darkness flow away to reveal his true form.

"...as did the illusion," Hiroto finished. He stood tall and smiling with unfathomable evil, burning with unmeasurable rage, with the ring on his uninjured hand, the other hand oozing blood over a black scroll held in it. The blood made the yellow scripture on the paper blaze brightly, and the blazing energy seemed to be spreading like electric current from the scroll through his body. His silver eyes crackled with that wild yellow energy.

"You look a little worse for wear, Kin-abandoner," Haruka spat. "It looks like the results of your bargain didn't agree with you."

"Oh, so the mighty Sadist of Konoha is reduced to name-calling?" Hiroto chuckled to himself as he regarded her, shaking his head. "And you've brought the Great Father, our clan's single greatest benefactor and single greatest disappointment, along with you. It's a shame how, in the end, he could not see the greatness of his son's ambition... isn't it, Haka no Keisuke?"

Keisuke took a step back, eyes bulging wide in shock. "What...? What do you know of your ancestors, kidnapper? You who weren't there, how do you know anything? Do you mean to tell me that your precious Byakugan can see into dreams, too?"

Haruka's anger faded a moment when she heard him speak, and she, Naruto, and Hinata all shifted their gaze to him. His dreams? Was _that_ what he had been dreaming about, when he had been lying on Kabuto's operating table? Was that what had had him screaming in illusory pain, real agony in a false world? Haruka's rage increased tenfold; to make his own ancestor relive the pain of his terrible past, along with all of the physical agony that he had endured, was unforgivable.

Naruto regarded the scene with wonder and confusion. It was obvious that Keisuke had been through a lot, but he did not know exactly what, other than the fact that he had obtained a set of eyes and a whole lot of scars. He looked to Hinata, and could see that she was just about as confused as he was. He would have to ask Keisuke or Haruka about it later.

It occurred to him then, however, that none of them was really focused on the fight that was obviously about to start. He pushed chakra through the Reiude connection that he had with Hinata, giving her a nudge to get her attention. She looked at him, and he mouthed "get ready" as he went into a ready fighting position. She nodded back, and began maneuvering quietly around behind Hiroto, hoping not to be noticed while the evil Hyuuga was focused on Keisuke.

"Of course I cannot enter minds," Hiroto said, answering Keisuke's question. "Only the Sharingan which Orochimaru covets has the power to do that. But I do have sources, O Great Father." He brought the hand with the sapphire ring up to his face, gazing at it with an appreciative gaze. "You made a mistake when you threw this away... no, I do not refer to the fact that your sadistic lover would be without a wedding band, but to the fact that you gave your past a chance to come back to haunt you."

He lowered the ring hand back to his side and smiled with unmistakable triumph at Keisuke. The yellow power flowing from the scroll flashed across his chest and began to tickle the ring. Green mottling began to form where the sparks touched the gem.

"You see, like a few other demons," Hiroto explained, "Your mother's spirit was tied to a special aritfact. This ring which, if you will remember, she left with your father was one of them. Within its confines she hid there even after the villagers came to try to drive her out. Safe there, she continued to afflict your father until he summoned the Rokubi and destroyed your home. Ah, what a glorious experience she describes in that... but I'll get to that shortly.

"But after that, it was you who held the ring, and she did not dare reveal her presence to you, for her plan was not yet ready to be implemented; you were not a fitting servant for the purpose that she had outlined. She could only lay in wait and gift your child with his incredible eyes... yes, it was her, for even after you threw the ring away, her power allowed her to call out to wandering souls, convincing a wandering monk that she was the voice of a deity, leading him to find the ring and take it back to the temple as a holy artifact. It was there that she called out to your son—who should be called the true Great Father—much in the same fashion that she called to me."

"Called to you?" Keisuke interrupted. "If she had called to anyone, I should have been able to hear it. I am tied to her by blood, and my chakra has the same taint..."

"Ah, but you do not seek the suffering of souls as she does, Father," Hiroto pointed out. "You reject the practice of tormenting mortals, and therefore the 'taint' to your chakra is not prominent. The closest that you ever come to it is when you fight and kill to survive, and even then you take no pleasure in it. No, the human blood in you dominates your being, and so you cannot fully make use of the talents that accompany demon heritage. Your mother's calls went unheard by you."

Keisuke grimaced as he realized that this was the reason why he had been unable to find his mother during the years when he had searched for her. At first, he had been enraged, had wanted to murder her, and he had felt somewhat like he knew where he was going... but as he had gone further and found nothing, he had grown more complacent, and his small sense of direction had dissipated. That entire process had just been thoroughly explained by someone who was hundreds of years his junior.

"But to continue," Hiroto went on, "Nearly five years ago was when I first heard her calling me. Long ago, the Hyuuga had rebelled against her domination, rejecting their worship of her and casting the ring back into the Grave with a seal upon it, so that she could not manifest herself physically. That was when the Clan allied themselves with Konoha, yet another story that I need not tell. You understand enough.

"So I heard her calling and took a leave of absence from my guard duties to go to find her. What do you think she said to me when I found her, Great Father? I heard the Great Mother say that the Hyuuga had failed in their divine purpose, that she was terribly displeased. She told me that I was to help her bring about retribution. I was instructed to find the one who could restore her to material being. Being up-to-date on current events, I did have knowledge of one who had that kind of knowledge..."

"Orochimaru," Naruto said, glaring at him angrily. "And it didn't hurt that you could use Keisuke-niichan to get what you needed, right?"

Hiroto's smile grew darker and wider. The mottling of the ring due to the yellow sparks had turned the sapphire entirely emerald, and was beginning to turn it yellow.

"Very good, demon brat," he said. "But we digress. The Great Mother promised that, when I had completed this task, she would bring punishment to the Clan that had caused both me and herself such disappointment and anger. Of course, it was an offer that I felt I could not refuse. And now that I have the power to bring her back, there is nothing that will save the Hyuuga... most especially not you, our blind, futile father."

Hinata chose that moment to charge from almost directly behind him. She came within ten meters in less than a second, her open palm ready to strike with the speed and precision of a viper.

"Don't think I did not see you, whelp!" Hiroto said, whipping around and hurling a wave of pure chakra her direction. It was a blast that made Neji's Hakke Kushou look like a child's fake magic trick.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled, and rushed for her. Unfortunately, he rushed without looking, and another gigantic wave blew him off his feet.

"Where the hell is he getting that power?" he said, climbing back up after a lengthy skid.

The ring's gem was shining with the yellow power, and Hiroto began to laugh as his preparations were complete. He rolled up the black scroll and, grasping it in both hands, formed a single hand seal over it. Power flared from both scroll and ring as Hiroto poured his chakra into the technique. Yellow sparks mingled with the black power that had formed the illusion of shades around Naruto and Hinata—the power of the Great Mother, used from within the ring—swirled around his form.

"Your world is about to end, Haruka, Father! Experience the wrath of the demon you were created to feed!"

Keisuke finally snapped himself back to his senses. He could not let that terror be released on the world! He couldn't let his descendants, the children that he had only just begun to get to know, be destroyed before his eyes! With his teeth bared, he wrapped his Ghostly Arms around him to form the Seal of Conflagration and charged, literally burning with determination. Flames whipped around him in the wind as he approached the mass of black and yellow.

"Too late," Hiroto sneered.

The electric yellow power stabbed out at Keisuke from the swirling aura, hitting him full in the face. Screaming in pain and clasping his head in his hands, he staggered backwards and fell onto his back. It was not long before blood began to leak from underneath his hands.

"Oh, gods, Keisuke!" Haruka ran to his side, carefully avoiding the dancing yellow-and-black plumes. She knelt beside him to inspect the damage.

"Niichan, are you okay?" Naruto asked, leaping over to join them. Hinata followed shortly after.

From first glance, the damage seemed to be very little; besides the blood from his head, only a few old cuts had been reopened, and a few new scrapes were showing here and there. His hair was singed in a couple of places, and it stood up in others, but nobody was worried about his hairstyle at the moment.

The real injury became apparent when Haruka pried his hands away from his face. Naruto nearly choked on his own bile, so nauseating was the sight. Keisuke's new eyes had exploded in their sockets, leaving a terrible, gooey, bloody mess.

"Damn it all," Keisuke said, struggling to stand. "I should have buried that ring fifty feet under. I should have crushed it when I saw it today. Now my ignorance may have killed you all."

"The hell it has!" Haruka exclaimed, her anger spiking again. "For what he did to you, I'll kill him first..."

"Don't," Keisuke said, grasping her firmly by the arm. "Look carefully at her power, Haruka. You'll be vaporized if you attack her recklessly, and if you aren't, she'll eat your soul slowly while the rest of us watch. She's a sadist that makes you look like a kid with a magnifying glass frying insects."

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" Haruka growled, her eyes burning through the evil power.

"**Suffer, mortal,"** called a voice through their minds, startling them. **"Suffer, so I may feed!"**

"Keisuke-san, was that...?" Hinata asked, beginning to show signs of fear under the terrible evil pressure.

"Yes," Keisuke answered grimly, "That's the voice of my bitch of a mother. If you're weak in spirit, she'll become too strong for even the strongest shinobi alive to defeat. If we want to survive, we need to take her as a team and stay motivated at all costs."

The dark power finally stopped swirling, compressing itself into Hiroto's body. A black, humanoid mass, surrounded by an aura of yellow and possessing eyes of molten silver, stared across the arena at them. Its sinister presence radiated a sense of dread through all of their hearts.

The demon of Keisuke's past had manifested in the present.

OoOoOo DYNAMIC ENTRY!! End Chapter 22 oOoOoO

**Next Chapter:** Once more blind, Keisuke faces the demon of his memories. How will he, Naruto, and the Hyuuga survive this deadly clash? What will be Neji, Shino, and Kiba's next course of action? And what of Sakura, who follows the mystery of the wayward Sasuke? Has he changed his outlook on life, and resisted Orochimaru's body transfer? If not, can Sakura and Ayaka, new and uneasy allies, overcome the Snake Sannin in his new body? I will tell you... but you will need the next chapter. wink

Good to be back, everyone.


	25. C23: Prelude to Annihilation

**A/N:** I had hoped to have this finished a looooong time ago, but big Navy kept me busy. Too bad, huh? At least it's ready to go now. Plans for VftF are all done, but I have to finish this first. I'll work with as much speed as possible around my studying and watch qualifications.

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Prelude to Annihilation**

The creature that once called itself Hyuuga Hiroto had become a different being. It still possessed the flesh of the former Captain, but that flesh was permeated by an evil force resembling few others in existence. Its skin was blacker than the blackest winter night, a shade that seemed to absorb all light. Through it pulsed the same sickly yellow chakra that tainted Keisuke, in such great volume that it spilled over the limits of the human body and amassed in the air surrounding it. Beyond that, it still resembled Hiroto in shape, stature, and expression, with the exception of the eyes; normal Hyuuga still had visible whites to their eyes even when the Byakugan was active, but this creature's eyes were all silver and glowed like melted steel.

There was only a half-moment to look upon it, which was both fortunate and unfortunate. The fortunate consequence was that its prey was no longer frozen in horror, fighting instincts taking effect as soon as it charged. However, their reflexes could only do so much for them. None of the shinobi save Keisuke knew what to expect from it, and Keisuke himself was once again blind and wounded. As a result, Naruto and Haruka barely managed to grab onto the blind man and haul him out of harm's way before the creature's menacing chakra lashed out, tearing up the arena floor where they had been only an instant before.

"Whoa!" yelled Naruto as his back was pelted with earthen shrapnel. He turned his head back to look at the fifty-foot-long, seven-foot-deep gouge in the ground that the single blast had ripped. "What kind of power is THAT? He only took a few steps forward and waved his hand at us..."

"It was Hakke Kushou," Hinata said, having seen her cousin do much the same thing with a smaller effect, "But it was magnified by so much! Its chakra is amazing."

"It can be as amazing as the chakra of Kyuubi itself, if she's eaten well enough," Keisuke explained, pulling loose of their grip. "Right now, she's likely putting on a good show to fool us into thinking this is a hopeless battle for us. That black shroud works in her favor, keeping us from knowing how much power she really has left."

"She" had already turned around and begun attacking again. The demon ran towards them with inhuman speed, hurling short bursts of its evil chakra as it came. The four shinobi split up in its wake, Naruto and Hinata escaping to the beast's left while Keisuke and Haruka fled to the right. Naruto hoped that it would be unable to choose a target between them and leave itself open in indecision, but no such luck graced them; the demon went right after Keisuke, tailing him like a shadow.

"Damn!" Naruto exclaimed. Whether it followed him because he was wounded and an easier target or just because it wanted to kill Keisuke more than the rest of them, it was not good. Keisuke was tired and his body had only just recently healed, and on top of that he had two bloody holes in his face. He could hardly withstand the full assault of such a creature alone. Naruto changed course, drawing a shuriken and tossing it quickly at the demon's back. This wouldn't be much, but hopefully it could give Keisuke a few more seconds before he, Haruka, or Naruto could hit with something more powerful. As the bladed projectile flew, Naruto moved his hands rapidly through the required motions.

"**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

Several more projectiles appeared around the first as it was about to impact, the set totaling over fifty shuriken. There was no possible way to dodge them all, even with such speed as this thing had. They flew with strong and true aim, mere feet from impact.

The demon's aura flashed for an instant, pouring out an almost solid wall of evil chakra. The shuriken, rather than striking the back of the enemy, disintegrated into fine dust. A soft, sadistic chuckle reached Naruto's ears as though from a woman standing two feet away, though the demon was a much greater distance away from him than that. Naruto realized that the creature had projected it's voice backwards through a weird form of telepathy just to taunt him.

_Laugh at me, will you? _ Naruto thought angrily. _You're not going to be killing anyone in this age, you ugly..._

His thoughts stopped as Keisuke stopped running and turned in mid-stride to stand his ground against the demon. What was this? He couldn't possibly be giving up already! To face all that power at point-blank range was most likely a suicide maneuver!

But then his Synchronization with Hinata told him what his own eyes could not; the Byakugan revealed to him the large trap seal that Keisuke had laid with his Ghostly Arms in the demon's path. That was a smart move, since even if the demon's Byakugan could see it too, it would still have to go around the trap to get to Keisuke. Naruto felt relief; this should give him and Hinata enough time to strike from behind.

Of course, the demon had other plans. Instead of running around the trap, it simply leaped upward, taking the fastest safe route across—air travel. It had a horrible grinning expression on its face before it opened Hiroto's mouth and screamed a blast of blazing light right at the blind man. Keisuke could not totally avoid damage, but he managed to get away with only a few cuts from shards of stone that flew from the arena walls where the shot hit it and Naruto could see that, even as Keisuke clutched his shoulder where a particularly large chunk of stone had lodged in it, it was the blind shinobi who was now smiling.

The reason became clear in another second. While the beast had been absolutely focused on Keisuke's death, Haruka had used its ignorance to run forward unnoticed... right onto Keisuke's "trap" seal. Naruto and Hinata watched as Keisuke reached out to touch the seal with one Ghostly Arm, activating it with barely a thought. Immediately, it erupted in a column of air which exhibited such great pressure that a circular imprint was left in the dirt. Haruka was launched upward, the wind whipping her midnight braid like a victory banner, straight at the enemy. A double-handed Jyuuken aimed at Hiroto's back glowed visibly in her palms.

_Yes! _Naruto thought excitedly. This was the kind of attack that could kill a small elephant; he'd seen Haruka do it before, when Keisuke had compared her to an old and dried-up pachyderm on a leisure trip close to a year ago.

"**Futile,"** remarked the demon, sounding almost disappointed. When Haruka was only an arm's length away, practically having hit her target already, Hiroto's body went from zero rotation to a hurricane-force spin in half a second, using the sickly chakra as both a propellant and a weapon. Haruka gasped in pain and surprise as the energy singed through her and slammed her back towards earth.

"**You cannot hope to defeat me with those techniques, especially with such weak power. It was I who gifted your bloodline with those eyes, and I have watched their uses grow through the centuries. There is no Jyuuken skill that is unknown to me, and I am master of them all!"**

To demonstrate, the monster landed lightly on its feet, palms extended toward Hinata, who was closing the distance to make her own attack. Naruto attempted to provide his partner with some cover by firing off two Raifu Daigeki wind bolts through his Reiude, one at the creature's head, the other at its chest. They came close to hitting their mark, but the creature simply flashed its aura again, and though the shots penetrated the chakra wall slightly, no damage was caused. Clear of any danger from that direction, the beast made a terrible smile once again using Hiroto's lips and changed stances to a familiar, very deadly form.

"**Jyuuken Hou: Hakke Rokujuuyon Kushou!" **(Jyuuken Move: Eight Trigams Sixty-Four Air Palms)

Hinata halted her charge and ducked to the right, but she could not keep from being clipped by several of the sixty-four rapid bursts of finger-sized chakra bullets that were aimed at critical points in her body. She yelped as almost all of her right side went numb, and a look of fear spread through her. The yellow chakra was not just strong, as Naruto could feel through their connection; it was cold and dreadful, and it spread a strong desire to break down and flee, or grovel for mercy. He began to see what Keisuke had meant about the weak-spirited having no chance.

He also felt rage begin to swell in his core—Hinata was in trouble! Moments before, the demon was only after Keisuke, but now it wanted Hinata just to demonstrate a point and to feed off fear! Hinata's memories began to surface in his mind through the connection; he saw her the subject of disappointment, felt the glare of Hiashi's unforgiving silver eyes. The demon was bringing these memories to the surface, trying to feed from them!!

"No way!" he roared. "Hinata's not your battery!" While he fed chakra to Hinata through the Synch, he dashed at the laughing demon, calling twelve clones to run alongside him. Some of them rolled themselves into balls with their chakra tails around them, becoming living boulders with the intention of running the enemy over. Others launched Fuuton: Renkuudan air balls at it, and more—including the original Naruto—rode atop these gaseous missiles with Rasengans in hand.

Simultaneously, Keisuke and Haruka attacked from the other side, Haruka picking herself up to charge again in anger while Keisuke began hurling kunai and shuriken loaded with his own yellow-blue power, ready to explode into molten steel on impact. He threw them until they ran out. The combined assault would have leveled half of a village, were there one nearby.

This time, though Hiroto's body spun just as quickly and with as much force as before, it did not escape unscathed. Haruka was once again thrown backwards against the overpowering yellow whirlwind, but Keisuke's multiple Hitoshirezu Shintou attacks and Naruto's Renkuudan and Rasengan missiles burst upon the rotating defense and disrupted it. This caused weak spots which allowed three of the rolling clones to break through the Kaiten, knocking the demon backwards.

The monster quickly recovered itself and remained on its feet, able to use its high-powered Hakke Kushou to fling the remaining clones into the arena's walls and ceiling, dispelling them. However, it was not quite fast enough to thoroughly stop the momentum of the angry and determined real Naruto, and was only able to produce a partial Hakke Kushou to oppose the full might of the Rasengan. Naruto's Reiude chakra tails deflected the yellow chakra wave and allowed him to drive the damaging sphere straight into the creature's abdomen.

It shrieked as the tattered cloth of Hiroto's robe shredded and the black skin was rapidly abraded. In desperation, it focused all of the chakra that it had to the point of impact, stopping the damage where it was and forcing Naruto backwards. Despite this, it was still quite obviously in pain and at a disadvantage, and the sense of dread emanating from it seemed to dissipate somewhat.

"You're a master of the Hyuuga's style," Naruto growled, "And you might know a little bit about Keisuke-niichan, but you haven't met me."

"**You," **said the demon, glaring at him with loathing, **"Are a fool to make me your enemy, boy. I had not known what to expect from you, this is true. Yet you are talking to a demon who, other than the nine Bijuu, is among the most powerful evils in this world. What threat could you possibly pose to an immortal like me?"**

Naruto faced the crackling power straight-backed and proud and said, "You don't know who I am? I'm Uzumaki Naruto, you ancient bitch, and I'm Konoha no Sato's next Hokage. You should be asking yourself what threat I possibly _couldn't_ pose to you!"

Hinata, though still in pain from the multiple impacts, had overcome the numbing effects with Naruto's shared chakra and dispelled the fear with his bravery. She smiled proudly at him, and took her stance again, waiting for an opportunity to back him up. This was Uzumaki Naruto at his best; they could not possibly lose now.

Haruka was also smiling, though she wished that she could have been the one to give that monster a smacking and a talking-to. She resolved to improve herself further once she had gotten out of here and brought Keisuke back to health; the blind moron was going to be very very busy with her for the next few years, until she was either satisfied with her improvement or until he collapsed from exhaustion.

"This is good!" Keisuke said, encouraging everyone. "Our morale is high, so she can't gain any more power, and she has only the energy that her host had plus what she's stolen from a very few people over hundreds of years of isolation. Keep your spirits up and we can wear her down in a few more minutes!" _And hopefully, we may just make it out of here with all our limbs still attached..._

The demon, though hurt, shook Hiroto's head and sighed. **"My son," **it said, **"You are too confident in the little which you know of me. If you knew the true power of the wonderful energy that courses through those veins of yours, you would have given up all hope long ago and become my food and my tool, as I intended you to be."**

The yellow aura around Hiroto flared for a brief moment and then disappeared completely, much to everyone's surprise. All four shinobi looked hard with their Byakugans and Reiudes, but could no longer find any trace of the yellow chakra.

"That damned black mask again," Haruka cursed. "I can't see a thing except black. It's really getting on my nerves."

"I'm having the same trouble, Haruka-san," Hinata agreed. "No matter how strong the focus, the Byakugan can't penetrate this illusion..."

"She is the Byakugan's creator," Keisuke remarked. "An intelligent creator, when creating a weapon, also creates a way to defeat that weapon should it be turned against them."

"Damn him, what is he doing?" Naruto wondered aloud, raising his tails around him protectively. He moved to a position that would be more squarely in the path between the monster and Hinata, intending to block any harm that came her way; at this point, her Hyuuga abilities were not going to be effective for anything other than a diversion, so it would be up to him and Keisuke to attack the demon and defend Hinata and Haruka at the same time.

Hiroto's face contorted with evil glee, and the mental voice of Keisuke's mother reverberated through the chamber with head-splitting volume. The black mask began to spread out from the creature's body, beginning to form a set of curved walls. Then his hands flipped perpendicular to his arms with the palms angled up toward Naruto and Keisuke.

"**Hakke Kushou, Ni no Tachi." **(Eight Trigams Air Palm, Version Two)

The yellow chakra appeared once more, this time reaching out briefly in the form of a vortex. Unlike before, however, this technique used its swirling motion to draw in Naruto and Keisuke vice pushing them away. Naruto swatted at the vortex with his tails, but the burst of power put into the evil vacuum was more than he was prepared for, and he was sucked towards the enemy without means of escape. Haruka, realizing that Keisuke's power was a more effective means of attack against this threat, jumped in front of the vortex so that she would be taken instead of him.

But Keisuke shoved her away hard, placing himself in the vacuum's path again. Before Haruka could retaliate, he was caught and being pulled in like Naruto was.

"Idiot!" Haruka shouted. "Why did you do that? You and Naruto-kun are the only ones who can hurt this thing!"

"Where I'm going, Haruka," Keisuke said, "You don't want to go. I can hurt her just as easily from there as I can out here. You and Hinata-chan stay alive!"

Hinata rushed after Naruto, hoping to grab onto his hand, leg, tail, anything to pull him away—the demon was ecstatic about having caught him, laughing madly in their minds, and she herself had felt the effects of that evil chakra. And if Naruto were to be caught at this point...

"Naruto-kun," she yelled, "Hold on, I'm coming!" She was ten feet away... five... she made a dive for his left foot.

Then the vacuum attack yanked him and Keisuke one final length towards the demon, and the black walls closed around them, locking Hinata and Haruka on the outside and severing the Synchronization link. Hinata got to her feet, intending to Jyuuken her way through to the inside, where she could join them. However, she had to divert her energy to escaping the flash of yellow-black lightning that came for her, the same type of lightning that had taken Keisuke's eyes. She somersaulted backwards across the floor and leaped agilely away until the bolts stopped chasing her, then stood panting in battle-ready stance, waiting for another wave.

However, the next wave never came. The energy crackled and flashed menacingly, but did not pursue them.

"Why... why did it take Naruto-kun and Keisuke-san and stop?"

Haruka walked over to join her junior Hyuuga, relaxing her own battle form and glaring with helpless rage at the swirling black and yellow energy wall that kept them out. After a moment, she also relaxed her Byakugan, seeing no point to using it if it could not penetrate the black mask.

"It probably doesn't have the energy to do anything to us besides keep us out while it's busy with them," she said. "That idiot Keisuke said to stay alive, but that's going to be hard if I have to be driven insane by boredom again."

Hinata looked at her oddly for a moment, but then saw that she was most likely right. She, too, released her Byakugan and stood up at ease. Her eyes turned to the swirling black again, watching it with deep concern.

"You think it is running out of power, Haruka-san?" she asked.

Haruka sighed and took a seat on the ground, wiping her brow. "Well, Keisuke did say that we were wearing it down. Probably, it wanted to isolate two of us so it could eat and gain back some power."

"And it took them instead of us because they were the most dangerous," Hinata concluded. "That isn't good... That kind of power, I don't have any skill that can counter it."

"Which Keisuke should have realized, that idiot," Haruka said. "If he were outside, he could have broken through that wall and stopped it. But nooo, he has to be _righteous_ and _brave_, and let me sit out here powerless while he could be turning into his own mother's lunch..." She stared into the depths of the black power, a tangible sense of regret and anxiety reflected in her silver irises.

Hinata looked at her senior, interpreting the words internally. "You're worried about them, aren't you?"

Haruka kept on staring at the spot where Keisuke had disappeared. Hinata expected an answer to the effect of "hell no, not about that idiot," or "that stupid demon has no chance." What she got completely surprised her.

"So worried that I could just about die."

With their Byakugan power inactive, the tiny, yet steady increase in strength to the wall went unnoticed...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Black and cold enveloped the two. Naruto and Keisuke could see only each other in the masking effect, and there was no sign of their enemy. The Ghostly Arms could find no trace of the monster, either.

"What the hell is this?" Naruto asked. "She pulled us in already, why isn't she attacking?"

"Attacking isn't her plan," Keisuke said. "At least, she won't attack physically. The fighting from before hurt her and used up a lot of her power. She needs to feed on pain and sadness to replenish herself. Synchronize with me, it will be easier to stay together."

Naruto followed his instructions, intertwining several of his Arms with Keisuke's own. He felt their senses and chakra mingle.

"Sorry, niichan; I don't have a fancy Byakugan for you to borrow."

"Normal eyes will do, little brother," Keisuke assured him. "Although, I can't see how much good _any _vision will do when all there is to see is black. Be careful—when she starts her work, she will probably be looking to attack you in your mind."

Naruto gave an affirmative nod and grunt, and steeled himself. His tails flicked around him anxiously, itching for whatever was going to happen to start already. In his mind, he ran through the procedure for self-dispelling genjutsu.

"I hope Hinata's not in trouble without me," he said under his breath. "We haven't fought anyone this strong since Sasuke."

Then a thought occurred to him, one that he had not graced his mind for a few days. He turned around, intending to ask Keisuke his opinion.

"Oi, niicha... oogh!"

He found himself impaled on a long, menacing sword blade, held by a very familiar pair of white hands attached to an equally familiar body. As he watched, the body turned from white to a mottled gray, and the hands turned red from his blood spilling over them.

"Did you really think that my intentions had changed at all," asked Sasuke, a wicked smirk on his face, "Naruto?"

"Sasuke!"

The pain was real, and so was the emotional pain that was beginning to well up in his chest. He had, in fact, begun to believe that his old friend's odd behavior was a sign of change. Now, though, finding him in league with a creature as evil as Keisuke's demon mother, he was certain that he had been wrong, and it hurt. Sasuke had probably decided that this demon was a better way to gain power than Orochimaru, that's all...

The darkness around him became thicker, and he thought that he could hear someone laughing...

_She needs to feed on pain and sadness to replenish herself... attack from the mind..._

"Wait a minute," Naruto said, pulling the sword from his stomach. He concentrated, slowing his chakra flow willingly, and the wound vanished; it had never been there in the first place. "You're an illusion. I'm not buying it another second! I'm not your freakin' battery either!"

He focused more, completely stopping his chakra, and the illusion quickly dispelled. Immediately, he started up his chakra flow again and sent a pulse through the Synchronization to Keisuke, in case he was suffering a genjutsu of his own.

"That wasn't needed," Keisuke said. Naruto turned to see that he was standing erect, perfectly fine. "But thanks for the thought."

"She didn't do anything to you?" Naruto asked, amazed.

"She tried," he said. "I saw myself killing my father from my father's point of view. She could have been more creative, I think; the dreams from before hurt worse."

Indeed Naruto noted that, except for the bloody holes in his face, the blind man could not have looked better. He found himself in awe of his big brother's willpower. What had he gone through in the past few days?

Keisuke tipped his head towards Naruto, sensing the feelings he experienced. "In case you were wondering, she's been doing similar things to me in my sleep for a good long while. Thanks to Orochimaru's drugs, I couldn't resist the dreams, but I could grow more tolerant to them. My past isn't so painful anymore."

_Damn, _Naruto thought while staring at him, _I'm going to kill Orochimaru ten times over for that..._

Then Keisuke smiled. "I can tell that you've had some dreams yourself. You didn't need me to break you out of that illusion."

Naruto remembered his nocturnal sessions with Kyuubi, before Hinata had neutralized them in her extremely pleasant fashion. Staring up at the bars, into the monster's eyes, forced to relive old nightmares and forge new ones in excruciating detail—it had not been fun at all.

Yet he realized that Keisuke was right; he _had_ recovered rather quickly from the illusion of his long-gone friend. Just one more curse of Kyuubi turned into a blessing.

"Yeah," he said, smiling widely in the growing dark, "You could say that. But I let the bitch have a little bit anyway." He spoke of the momentary shock he'd had, and how the demon had extracted a small amount of energy in that period.

Keisuke felt around himself with his Reiude, ascertaining the truth of Naruto's statement. He was right; the swirling dark had grown stronger, and another attack was being prepared. It was another illusion, he could tell that much, and one of greater clarity if one judged the chakra formation correctly.

"Nothing to worry about," he concluded. "Now you know what to expect. If you maintain your confidence, she'll run out of energy using her illusions before we give any up. I think you've got a pretty good handle on your past, don't you?"

Naruto wasn't afforded the time to answer, as he suddenly found himself whisked away many years, far back to the earlier days at the academy when he had begun to fixate on the young pink-haired girl, Sakura. She was looking at him with scorn, and he knew he would never have a chance...

"NOT!" Naruto yelled, and with a mighty pulse of chakra the image was dispelled.

Immediately it changed into an older version of Sakura, one who was glommed tightly onto an injured Sasuke in a hospital bed. The younger him stood watching, staring with an emptiness to his eyes.

"Geez, get a clue!" Naruto said. "I'm not going to fall for something that weak, especially now that I've gotten over her!" This illusion, too, was thwarted within seconds.

The fish-man, Kisame from Akatsuki, stealing all of his chakra with the great sword, Samehada. Naruto could remember being very afraid then... There was no way for him to fight such a beast!

"Weak!! Find something scarier than a fish, old crone!"

Itachi, glaring evilly at his prey with an irresistible dominance. Kyuubi's power would be his for the taking...

"Hey, look... he's got red on him! Next!"

On and on it went, one illusion after the other. Each was extravagant in detail and reflected a significant saddening or scary event from years before. Yet each he easily threw off; as Keisuke had said, once he knew what to expect, his experience in surviving nightmares gave him strength to combat these visions. No matter how many were thrown at him and no matter how great the frequency, he defeated them all... and that made his confidence soar. No way was he feeding that ugly old lady any more!

So caught up in his triumph was he, and so elaborate were the environments incorporated into the illusions, that he failed to feel or see the slow buildup of dark power in the black walls around him...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After the initial attack, a new illusion had come to take the place of the old, and the once-again-blind man found himself out in an entirely new environment. This particular vision included a heavy rainfall, and he could feel the mud beneath his feet with cold, sticky clarity. He had eyes in this vision, as well; he could see that he was in a back alley in some village, and that it was sometime in the twilight hours just before nightfall.

He did not know whose body he was in, however, and it certainly was not his own. Looking down at the arms, legs, and torso, he could see that it was a very young body, perhaps that of a fourteen-year-old. It was clad in a dark training suit of the kind Hyuuga apprentices wore, soaked in rain to the bone.

Yet there was nobody else in the alley but him. He was alone, and nothing was happening.

"Is that all?" Keisuke called out. "I haven't forgotten what you promised me before you sealed me away all that time ago. Are you going to take it back now?"

He was surprised to find that his voice was extremely high-pitched and sharp, even for a young boy. In shock, he reached down, patting himself to see if his suspicions were true. After a moment, he had his answer.

"Wonderful," he said to himself, "She's turned me into a teenage girl. I'm sure she did it to demoralize me, but it's more annoying and insulting than depressing..."

"**Is it, now?" **His mother's voice echoed in his mind, though it was not part of the audio effect in the dream itself. **"We will see about that. Why don't you have a look around?"**

"I think not," Keisuke responded. He did what he had done before, concentrating to halt the flow of his chakra momentarily to break the genjutsu illusion.

Then something strange happened that had not happened before. In spite of his will, his chakra did not stop flowing... it _increased_ in flow! The power manifested itself as a dark yellow aura around him, completely out of his control.

"**I dominate here,"** his mother said, sneering at him. **"Your chakra is half mine; I can control it freely, if I so desire. This time, you will be going nowhere, my son. You will feed me before you die."**

Keisuke was shocked for a moment, thinking he had lost, but he stopped those thoughts before they could increase the demoness's power. This was a mere inconvenience, he told himself. The dreams in Orochimaru's laboratory were horrible, but they had taught him to resist and survive. Once she had found out that she could not get a reaction of despair from him, she would abandon the attempt.

"All right, so you surprised me," he admitted. "However, there isn't anything in my memory that I haven't seen recently and gotten over. Spiritually, I have never been stronger. You will have trouble breaking me."

"**Such arrogance, my child! You are correct; the dreams that were enabled by my dear toy Orochimaru's drugs did not kill your spirit, but instead made you more able to resist the pain of your own memories. But what of the memories of others?"**

"DIE!!"

Before Keisuke could ask what she meant, he was under swift attack. In this body, alien to him, he did not know how to defend himself, and was immediately overpowered. Somehow, he suspected that this body would not have been able to fend off the attack anyway; it came very quickly and strongly and the body was not trained enough to match it. In half a second, Keisuke was knocked to the ground and sent skidding through the mud until his head collided with a large metal object; a trash receptacle. He felt hot blood stream from a large wound, though the pain of the wound itself was dulled by numbness induced by the cold.

Yet he was strong enough in spirit to sit up and look into the face of his attacker. It was a woman, perhaps twenty-something years of age, with short, dark hair and a band tied around her forehead. She had white eyes with no pupils, and those eyes were crying.

A Hyuuga branch member. But he'd never seen this one before... why would this be important to him?

"What do you want from me?! I never did anything to you!" The female voice that came from his borrowed throat acted on its own, independently of his will; the illusion was making him play out the memory.

The attacker, looking hurt and disgusted at the same time, did not speak, but came towards him again. Keisuke felt a scream come out of him, but choked off when the Jyuuken slammed into his guts. The torment did not end there, however, for the woman had picked him up by his collar and now threw him like a rag doll against the wall of the nearest building. He felt several ribs crack, and his eyes began to tear up from the pain.

"St-stop it!" he heard himself yell. "Don't...!"

Another slamming force. Not a Jyuuken this time, but a conventional punch. Another one followed, and then another. Keisuke, in this strange body that was not his, found himself under the barrage of punches delivered by a woman who was crying and looking at him with utter loathing through the entire beating.

"Wh... Why...?" he gasped between punches. But the woman wouldn't tell him.

"**You don't realize?" **spoke the demoness. **"How hopeless you are. Look at your reflection, there in the trash on that shard of glass. Do you see?"**

He tore his eyes away from the rampaging woman for a second to look, even though he knew he should not. His abnormally sharp vision found the shard in moments and, although it was small, he could clearly see the silver eyes and dark, braided hair looking back at him. The face of someone he knew, many years younger.

The face of someone he loved. Laughter filled his mind as anguish gripped his heart.

"Haruka," he gasped, "Is this... ugh!"

The laughter increased as his mother began to feed, and to grow stronger.

"**Is this real? Yes! I have ALL of the memories from every last one of your descendants, my son! You wondered how Haruka could be so powerfully sadistic and yet so insecure at times. Now you have a glimpse at the reason!"**

"No..."

"**Yes! The woman who spills your blood now is the sister of the Branch family member sacrificed in the _place_ of Haruka's mother! How sad do you believe she was when she found out that her sister was murdered because another Hyuuga ran away out of cowardice? Haruka keeps it buried deep in the recesses of her mind, but on this night, and every night after until her father took her out of the village, she was made sorry for her parents' terrible lack of courage... just as you are being made sorry now, my child."**

Sorry Keisuke was indeed. Sorry that he had never made the effort to overcome the masochistic dreams that created the sadist. So very sorry that he had been annoyed by Haruka's antics rather than treat them as a symptom of a long-buried torturous memory.

But his mother was not sorry. She was well on her way to achieving the level of power that was needed. The power needed to extract the sorrowful essence of the entire Hyuuga Clan...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The illusions stopped coming quite abruptly. Naruto was returned to the present place and time, sporting a huge, cocky smile and swishing his tails across the ground and through the air in contempt. It looked to him as though the demon had at last given up on trying to get any suffering or fear out of him. They were in the clear! He whipped around, looking for the grin of approval on his big brother's face.

"Hey, Niicha... huh?!"

But Keisuke was on the ground, rolling back and forth and clutching his head. The dirt and rocks underneath him tore into his flesh, reopening the freshly-healed wounds there. His mouth parts were moving constantly, trying to form a word but unable to project his voice.

"**You mourn for that pathetic worm?" **said the voice of the demon. **"Fool. You do not realize that she is the one who has killed you!" **Booming laughter filled the space, and Naruto only had to lift his eyes a few feet from his vulnerable friend to know the source.

There, standing over Keisuke, was a human form. It was not Hiroto as Naruto had expected; the darkness had coalesced around the former Captain's frame, forming a new shell. This new body, though it maintained Hiroto's size, was without a doubt that of a woman. Like before, the eyes were molten silver, and they glowed with a palpable evil. The lips cracked into a wicked, yet oddly beautiful smile as she stepped towards her ailing son, hand extended. A stream of dark yellow chakra connected them, tinted with blue highlights near Keisuke's end that slowly turned black as they approached the woman.

And what _power_ Naruto could feel in her! Apart from the flood of it that she was receiving from Keisuke right now, there was even more trickling in from the wall of black that surrounded them. Naruto knew it must be because Hinata and Haruka were outside, trying hard not to despair and failing. They didn't know what was happening on the inside, and it must have been driving them near insane with worry. Especially because there was nothing that they could do against the Hyuuga's supreme mother.

Oh, she was _not_ going to be laughing when he was done with her...

Anger swept through him, and with it came a will to attack and kill. Tails swishing in his wake, he dashed with blurring speed and closed the distance between the two in less than a second. Each magnificent Tail of Light became a high-speed cutting edge, and all nine whirled at the evil woman in their path as Naruto spun three-hundred and sixty degrees in the air, bringing his fist to bear upon her.

Yet the woman defended herself with barely a movement, seeming to be caught up in enjoying her son's defeat. Every tail was repelled by a wall of invisible power that flashed dull yellow when it was contacted. She was emitting chakra from every release point on her body, as the Hyuuga masters often do in dire situations. His fist she caught in one hand. Only after Naruto's motion had completely stopped did she turn her horrible scalding eyes on him.

"**You naive young fool," **she chuckled. **"Thinking that you can save anyone, let alone my son, is a thought you had best put out of your mind for good. Well... at least for the few minutes that you have left to live, anyway. Let us make a splendidly painful few minutes of it, that I may have something to show the young heiress..."**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Gaah, what the _HELL _is going on in there?!" Haruka fumed. She stood with her fists clenched so tightly that Hinata almost thought she heard her finger bones would crack. Her eyes looked upon the black mass—getting larger and larger at a continuously accelerating rate—with a mixture of anger and fear that looked ready to turn to panic at any moment.

Hinata couldn't blame her; she felt ready to be sick at the sense of dread that was creeping through her flesh once again. She felt cut off from a significant measure of courage without the connection to Naruto, for the dark hurricane seemed to be sucking the two of them dry of all hope, even though it was not directly attacking them.

"Damn it!" Haruka cursed. "She's getting stronger just from watching us squirm, isn't she?"

In answer, a thunderous cackling pierced their minds, causing Hinata to clamp her hands to her ears. The effort was futile, however; the laughter was not audible, but telepathic. The headache was excruciating; the demon had indeed gotten much stronger.

"**It gets much better, my children... Why not see for yourselves?"**

Hinata's mind was suddenly filled with a terrible image of Naruto, held captive with his throat in the grip of a woman whose power touched the sky. Black electricity shot through him. His headband flew off, revealing the Caged Bird Seal beneath, which was also burning tar-black. A horrid scream, the inflection of which suggested that his voice box was being mangled, filled her mind with as much clarity as the demon's laughter had.

It brought her such pain! Naruto in such torment was unbearable; it made her insides heave so violently, and her heart constrict so tightly, that she would have broken all her gentle mannerisms and killed a hundred people just to make it go away!

"Stop it!" she yelled. "Don't show me that!"

"**Why not?" **sneered the demoness. **"It's only the truth. Isn't that right, Haruka? Just like what I'm showing to little Keisuke-chan..."**

With the focus off of her momentarily, the pain in Hinata's core lessened somewhat, enabling her to get a hold of herself and look to Haruka, wondering what she was being shown. What would the evil woman show to a reputed Sadist to evoke despair?

Yet Haruka was not where she had been a moment ago. She had already rushed forward, forgetting that all her rage was useless against the originator of all her power, oblivious to the fact that the evil force before her would probably kill her. Her chakra flared visibly around her, so intense was her rage.

"Dis-gus-ting _bitch_!"

"**So predictable..."**

Black and yellow power lashed out, burning through Haruka's body to the ground beneath, where it cracked the earth and sent rock shrapnel and dirt everywhere. Haruka staggered backwards, coughing up a spurt of blood and gasping for breath. She knelt on the ground, and seemed about to hurl a defiant curse and rise back up. Yet her defiance only lasted as long as her strength did; in another moment, she toppled to the ground, unconscious.

"**A pity,"** said the demon. **"Now that she has fainted, I cannot extract any conscious pain from her... but it is of little concern. I will have enough power soon enough..."**

"Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, a dirty tear streaking down her face, "I know you have the power within you. Even if you have to use _it,_ you're the only one that can stop her. Only you can save us, save the Hyuuga. Please..."

Then she checked herself. What was she doing, crying in despair like this? That was the old Hyuuga Hinata, the one that this wicked aberration was trying to drag to the surface and feed off of. What was she doing, giving into that manipulation? To let herself be a "battery," as Naruto had said, was pure lunacy.

If the Kyuubi, the mightiest demon that ever lived, could not defeat her and Naruto, then this weaker demon certainly couldn't either. Wiping her face, she got to her feet, drew air into her lungs, and shouted with all the voice she had directly into the mass of black.

"Naruto-kun, fight back!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The pain was incredible. The evil bitch was shocking him with power that was created from years of pain, and feeling the depth of all that pain at once was so terrible that Naruto wondered why he was not dead already. Worst of all, every ounce of pain that he felt turned into even more power for his captor, and while he could resist mental pain, physical pain was something that he could not prevent in the slightest.

Even Kyuubi felt the pain, the unbearably strong spiritual current scorching its way through the Hyuuga Caged Bird Seal directly into the core of both human and demon. Naruto could feel the fox thrashing around in his cage, enraged, but inactive—just as he had been when Hanabi had activated the seal to get Sasuke out of his mind.

_Can't you do anything, you stupid fox?! _

_**How can I? The stupid Caged Bird Seal may disrupt the barrier between our souls, but if it is activated I am as powerless to resist as you are!**_

Despair engulfed him. Pain pierced him. Agony rumbled in his ears, pulsed in his veins, and gurgled out through his throat. It seemed as though it was truly the end of them. Oh, how the mighty had fallen; the most powerful demon in the world, the number one most surprising ninja in history, and they still couldn't pull a win out of this one...

He could just imagine Hinata crying over his dead body, and Sakura trying to comfort her even though tears streamed from her own eyes. Kakashi would stand near his grave every day and mourn his loss, while Tsunade and Jiraiya would drink themselves into oblivion. The world would go dark...

Naruto-kun! Fight back!

_Hinata?_

Fight back!

_I can't!_

Fight back!

_I'm dying..._

_**For our sake, kit, **_**listen ****_to the girl! I'm useless in this state... you must take my power and fight this evil before we _both _die! _**

A dirty, determined face with long, midnight hair and beautiful white eyes, a single tear streak down one cheek, yelling, "Fight back!"

A sudden jerk of high-intensity pain stabbed through him, calling his attention back to the present. The demoness's face was a mere inch away from his, snarling with a horrible, toothy glee. It was about to complete its meal.

"**You were delicious, little boy. I wish you more pain in the next world, though I regret I have no time to harvest it from you..."**

The hand that had been draining Keisuke stopped for a moment to form a killing instrument made of flesh and sharpened chakra—a dagger formed around a hand. It stabbed towards Naruto's chest, crackling black from the air friction...

And then was blown away, along with the rest of the demoness, by a sudden eruption of burning red chakra. The supreme mother of all Hyuuga was knocked against her own black wall of chakra, which disintegrated quickly once her concentration was broken. The air cleared of darkness and the stadium once more came into view—along with an unconscious Haruka and a pleasantly surprised Hinata.

Keisuke let out a groan, finally released from his mother's spell, and sat up. He spent a long moment holding his head in his hands and trying to contain the terrible throbbing in his brain. Eventually, however, his senses began to slowly return to him, and he reached out with them to feel the most welcome feeling in the world. In spite of his recent agony, he joined Hinata in being joyfully surprised and climbed shakily to his feet, where he stood bloody, but smiling.

There stood Naruto, glowing brilliant red with powerful chakra swirling around him. His Nine Tails of Light were now nine long ropes of flame that danced violently in the air, and his pupils were angry red orbs that stared into the evil woman's heart with such deadly intent that it made the air nearly ignite in front of him.

"I think you've had more than enough to eat, you ugly old Hyuuga granny," he said. "You're bulging bigger than I ever did after twenty bowls at Ichiraku's."

The demon stood up again, snarling. She was winded somewhat, but by no means was she defeated.

"**I will have you know that I am swollen only with power, young one," **she said. **"You may have tapped the powers of your demon tenant, but you're too late; I have absorbed far too much power, and am now beyond defeat. You, on the other hand, have been weakened physically in this battle. You will only bring more misery on yourself before you die."**

One burning tail melted the ground beneath it into slag, leaving a molten scar along its path. Naruto stood erect and proud, and raised his fist in challenge.

"Then I'll at least make sure I die keeping Hinata and the others safe from _you_, old hag. If you're so powerful, then show me!"

And with those words spoken, Naruto and the demoness charged each other as Hinata and Keisuke looked on in awe. A titan of yellow and black electricity and molten silver on a collision course with a bullet of flesh and flame and feral destruction. So great was their velocity that only the sharp contrails of their auras were visible when they moved.

Yet when at last they collided, the whole world seemed to feel the impact...

OoOoOoOo Boom. End of Chapter Twenty-Three. OooOoOoO


	26. C24: At the Breaking Point

**A/N: **Yes, I realize it's taking me forever. No, I'm not forgetting about you guys. Yes, I do have a good reason. Yes, I will be doing Vision for the Future. But I will need help. I may need a co-writer to help me out since so much of my time is taken up by the Navy, but yes, I will finish it all. ALL of it. Every last word. ((**insert fiery, determined facial expression**))

**Chapter Twenty-Four: At the Breaking Point**

Sasuke sat, cross-legged and arms folded in contemplation, atop a gargantuan-sized boulder which rested at the base of a high, sheer cliff that served as the border between the Grave and the forest above. All around him was nothing but dry, cracked dirt and air full of dust; the ruined village and the secret facility that lay beneath were too far away to be seen by normal eyesight. Had he been looking for symbolism in his hiding place, he would have chosen this exact spot as a representative of the relationship between his titanically mighty, solid self and his barren, scarred, and shrouded life.

However, Sasuke being a man of practicality, he had instead chosen this spot because of its distance from the exit to the underground tunnels and because it would be impossible for anyone to see him up here through the choking dust cloud below. It was also a suitable vantage point from which his Sharingan, now more powerful than ever, could detect the chakra signatures of every combatant taking part in the struggle within the Grave.

Sakura and the Ibara girl were about halfway through the tunnel now. Sasuke could feel Sakura's tremendous power tearing through the barricades that he had set up as though they were paper. It did not concern him much, as it would take up a substantial amount of time for the two of them to cross the Grave to his position even if they traveled in the exact straight-line path from the tunnel's end right to him. Sakura was strong and Ayaka fast, but neither was strong or fast enough to reach him before he had moved on. Sasuke disregarded their movements, and cast his gaze over to the far end of the Grave.

Neji and Kiba were there, as was Shino, who actually stood horizontally halfway up the southern cliff face, directing his insects as they hauled unknown non-combatants—Sasuke presumed that they were prisoners from the lower level of the base, Orochimaru's former test subjects—up out of the Grave and into the forest. It was difficult to fully see their chakra through the distance, but he could recognize a sense of urgency in Neji and Kiba. Most likely, they were fleeing the repeated blasts of power that had been screaming down from the sky since the battle had begun. Sasuke doubted that any of them knew what the power was, and so it must have been surprise and fear of the unknown that drove them, but they would have run even they had known...

That weapon, Sasuke knew, was being driven by Akatsuki—in particular, by his own brother. Uchiha Itachi was the only Sharingan that was available to that organization, and since they had been unable to find any other way to regulate the enormous combined energy of all the stolen Bijuu without committing the time and energy and unbroken concentration of all their members at once, which would render them vulnerable to attack while using it. By using Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan as a controller, they could safely and effectively wield this weapon, which could destroy entire armies and villages if fired accurately. This was one reason why Orochimaru had been forced to keep moving almost constantly, for if a hideout were discovered while he was inside it, Akatsuki's weapon would vaporize him no matter what body he inhabited.

Now, it seemed, they had heard about the lair in the Grave, but were unsure exactly where it was. Sasuke could see deep craters everywhere in places where they had test-fired. He felt the ground vibrate and saw the sky light up as yet another shot came down, and directed his attention to it. His observation confirmed that it was indeed composed of Bijuu chakra, destructive and savage, focused in a beam that was approximately a quarter mile in diameter. He followed its path of travel straight up, trying to see in which direction it came from, but the shot ended before he could find the change in direction.

_That didn't last long, _he thought to himself. _It's power must be limited without all nine of the bijuu. Orochimaru's information suggested that at full power it should be able to fire for a longer duration, with a larger diameter, and without having to wait this long between shots. Right now the weapon is potent, but not perfect._

_Still..._

Sasuke looked toward the rough middle of the Grave, where he could detect two massive chakras locked in deadly combat. Both energies only kept getting stronger with time, drawing on more and more power in an effort to overpower one another. Sasuke knew that if Akatsuki picked up this battle, they would immediately know where their target was. They would destroy the base, leaving only Naruto barely alive, and then they would pounce on him. Their weapon would become even more deadly, and one by one the other Jinchuuriki would fall until the weapon was at last perfect. Then all the shinobi villages would be obliterated, and the world would belong to Akatsuki.

But what did he care? Wasn't revenge his only concern?

No. Not anymore.

He stood up on the rock, a look of conviction on his dark face. His eyes flashed red, and the Mangekyou Sharingan was alive with cold, commanding power. By his own hand, he had destroyed any chance he'd once had at a happy life. The memory of Sakura's fist in his face served as a constant reminder of the happy bonds that his own lust for revenge had snapped, that he could never, ever repair. He was an S-class criminal in the bingo book, a bringer of destruction and terror that the village would never allow to live. He could never go back, and his friends had forsaken him forever. Only now did he allow himself to feel the burning pain that he had concealed from the others, the pain of self-inflicted loss that gave him the power of Mangekyou Sharingan. The death of Uchiha Itachi was still an ultimate goal, but no longer was it only one, nor was it the most important.

An explosion of intensity flashed between Naruto and his opponent, a burst that he would not have needed the Sharingan to detect. It was a clear presence even this far away, and Sasuke knew that it would be felt for miles and miles away beyond that. It seemed likely that even the armies that were battling near the Hidden Village of Rock would notice it, and send scouts here. And if _they_ noticed it, then it was a good chance that Akatsuki would pinpoint the origin in minutes.

_Or maybe, _he thought, looking up at the mass of bijuu chakra that was accumulating in the sky, _they already have. _

The weapon was channeling energy, but it had not yet fired. It was instead building energy for what might be a concentrated or sustained shot, either one of which would mean the end of the battle and death for one or more of the parties involved. Naruto had, at most, fifteen minutes to escape.

Unless, of course, another Mangekyou Sharingan were present to combat the one in control of the weapon. Sasuke did not waste time thinking about it. He leaped from the rock and disappeared into the thick dust cloud on the ground, moving at inhuman speed towards the deadly struggle that took place beneath the manifesting death in the sky.

OoOoOoOoO

Hinata was nearly rendered as blind as Keisuke by Naruto's initial clash with his enemy, but now that her eyes were adjusted, she was in awe of the battle that she was witnessing. Naruto was stronger than she had ever seen him—stronger even than he had been in his battle against Sasuke. He was attacking with the full force of all his normal chakra combined with Kyuubi's, and without Kyuubi struggling for control or an opponent that he feared to kill because he was once a friend, there was no restriction on his enormous potential.

A punch flung from a distance of thirty feet sent a fist of red chakra flying at the demon so fast that there was no time to run, and the evil combination of Hiroto and his demon possessor could do nothing but throw up a feeble chakra barrier with their hands, which was easily blown apart. The black-and-yellow titan flew backward into the wall, and a portion of the wall, along with a section of ceiling, collapsed on top of it. Hinata watched with eyes wide open, her hands clenched, her face alive with hope.

The demoness was not finished, however. She channeled a huge mass of dark chakra and released it through every chakra opening in Hiroto's stolen body, blasting the stone rubble around her into pebbles. Her melted-silver eyes found Naruto in an instant, and in the next second she was dashing towards him again. Instead of attacking directly this time, however, she instead shot a humongous Hakke Kushou towards him as he himself was sprinting forth to meet her.

The red glare in Naruto's eyes stared right back. He pushed at the ground with his fiery tails, leaping aside without the use of his feet, and evaded the spiraling stream of black Hyuuga power with ease. His feet hit the ground still running. He and the demoness began to circle each other, running the same wide path over and over again as they sought a better angle of attack. Hinata could not help but notice the tracks that both fighters made on their circular path—the demon's electrical aura cracked the ground where her feet landed, leaving crevices and stray pebbles along her route. As Naruto passed over these tracks, his tails melted the ground, so that the end result was a circle of slag bordered by small fissures and debris.

Then, when neither fighter could find a good angle, they both decided, simultaneously, on trying to _make _one. The demoness hurled another Hakke Kushou into Naruto's path, while Naruto threw another red chakra fist. The two powers met in mid-air, deflecting off of each other at opposing angles so that each fighter had to skid to a halt to avoid hitting his or her own attack before it smashed into the cavern wall.

With a cry of frustration, the demoness began tossing bolt after bolt of spiraling chakra, laced with black lightning, at Naruto, who countered by flinging the nine-tails's fiery power in massive bursts. As before, the attacks bounced off each other, flying at random angles into the cave walls.

At the same time Hinata felt both excited and afraid. Naruto was definitely more than a match for this enemy, even without her help. Yet, as his power and the power of his opponent continued to build up and release, the battle was rapidly endangering her life, as well as the lives of Keisuke and Haruka. She looked about, trying to locate the blind man and his partner, but even with the Byakugan she could not pick up his chakra; there was so much chakra flying everywhere that it was impossible to tell whose was whose and whose was where, with the notable exceptions of Naruto and the demoness, who were the most powerful concentrations of chakra in the room. She grew worried when she saw that Haruka was not where she had fallen only moments ago.

"Keisuke-san!" she called, trying to make herself heard over the noise of hundreds of chakra flashes hitting each other and rocks. She could barely hear herself. Distressed, she barely noticed the blast of black power that had just bounced out of the clash in her direction. Desperately, she threw herself prone upon the ground, and felt death pass mere inches over her exposed back. Hinata realized that she needed to get out of here, and quickly.

But she couldn't just leave Keisuke and Haruka behind! If they were still alive, she had to find them. She steeled herself and began to run across the wrecked underground battlefield, dodging chakra flashes and deflecting falling chunks of rock from the ceiling with brief slashes of her Shugo Hakke. It was difficult to keep track of incoming threats and search for her friends at the same time, but she was determined not to give up, no matter the cost; Keisuke and Haruka were as much friends to her as they were to Naruto.

They were nowhere to be found. She circled the field once, twice, three times, but did not find them. Each time she came around to where she started, her sense of dread built up more, and she had to apply more force of will to keep it down.

If they were not in the space surrounding the fight, then they had to be...

_In the crossfire, _she thought, swallowing heavily. This was going to be tricky; one false move, just one, and she would be dead. Yet she could not avoid it. If she was getting out of here, it would be with all of her friends. Mustering her courage, she made ready to plunge into the raining death.

She stopped when her Byakugan and her ears made her aware of the enormous slab of stone and soil that was gravitating directly down upon her. A gigantic portion of the cave's ceiling had just broken and fallen away with a great and loud cracking noise, carved out by rebounding blasts of chakra, and the light of the sun could be seen flooding the chamber.

Well, flooding parts of the chamber, anyway; the part with Hinata in it was stil very dark, shadowed by the massive quantity of rock and soil that was falling on top of it. There was no way that the Shugo Hakke would stop something that insanely large. There was no possibility of running away in time, either. Hinata's face grew pale with fear, but she did not cower. She was through with cowering. She would go down fighting, and hopefully her death would not make Naruto lose control. She moved her arms in a frenzy, concentrating all of her power into the Shugo Hakke: Rokujuuyon Shou.

The rock drew nearer, falling faster as it came, reaching terminal velocity...

"**Reiude Ninpou: Raikou Daigeki!"**

A blue-yellow strand of chakra reached toward the very center of the rock slab, right above Hinata, and then flashed like an exploding sun, making a noise like a thunderclap. A large dent appeared in the slab's underside. From behind her curtain of bright-blue chakra blades, Hinata watched Keisuke come sprinting towards her, Haruka dangling in his embrace. The Ghostly Arms were visible and very bright, protruding from many points on his body. He had merged them into the state of Thirty-two Ghostly Arms, pulling out all the stops to save himself and his partner, even though the risk was great.

"Again, and again!" he yelled, and another Ghostly Arm flashed, widening and deepening the dent in the slab. As he finally reached Hinata, he did it a third time, and this time the blast burned all the way through to the top of the slab, splitting the enormous rock in half just as it came down on them. Hinata's Shugo Hakke did the rest, widening the hole so that the pieces fell to either side of the three battered shinobi, raising a great cloud of dust.

"Hinata-san," Keisuke yelled over the noise, "You may have noticed, but if we stay here much longer we're going to be cooked fairly quickly!"

Hinata nodded vigorously, watching the demoness give a horrendous cry as one of Naruto's shots hit her in the shoulder, and let loose a double-handed Hakke Kushou that was five times the size of any of the others she had fired so far. In response, Naruto formed an enormous Rasengan composed of both his own chakra and Kyuubi's, which he used to shield himself. Black electricity crackled from the point where the techniques met, and Naruto skidded back across the ground several feet. He was determined, however, and once he had stopped sliding he began to walk forward, pushing against the Hakke Kushou's continuous, mighty force towards its source. The demoness cried out in horror and increased her attack's power, but still Naruto came. It was in that moment that everyone present came to know the ultimate truth of the situation, and the battle in general.

Naruto was going to win. With all his power and Kyuubi's together and no restraints, he was among the mightiest warriors that ever walked the planet. The demoness had grown powerful, but with nothing left to feed on, her power was rapidly diminishing. In time, Naruto and Kyuubi's virtually bottomless well of energy would wear her down.

In the meantime, though, the others were highly vulnerable to the backlash from both fighters, and they were very much aware of it.

"Can you climb out of here, Keisuke-san?" Hinata asked. "Do you have the strength?"

"Not at the moment," Keisuke said, smiling wanly and pointing up at his face. The bloody sockets that had recently held eyes were only now beginning to clot. "Both of us are going to need medical attention soon. We've seen enough action for a lifetime at this point."

Hinata saw that he was not joking; both he and his partner were broken and bleeding and burned in several places, and neither they nor Hinata had any soldier pills, or even a clean bandage. They had to get out of here and find professional help. But how?

"I couldn't carry you," Hinata said, looking up at the hole in the ceiling, the daylight that poured in through it. "Not both of you, and not that high. If we had one of Naruto-kun's summoned frogs, we could jump up there easily, but I don't think we ought to distract him now."

Keisuke's smile grew as he heard the word, "summoned." Hinata stared at him inquisitively. Surely he was not thinking of interrupting Naruto's fight to borrow Gamabunta, was he? Or did he have some trick up his ragged sleeve that Hinata didn't know about?

"That Uchiha Sasuke," he said, "May not be such a bad guy after all. He had to have known this was coming, giving me something like a summoning contract back in the cell."

Hinata reeled with surprise on learning that Sasuke, of all people, might actually have done something helpful to their cause. She was immediately suspicious that he might have done so just to further his own ends.

"Wait!" she shouted while Keisuke formed the necessary seals with his bloodied hands. "Are you sure that whatever he gave you to summon isn't dangerous?"

Keisuke half-smiled, half-grimaced as he kneeled, his hands hovering a foot above the ground.

"Honestly? I have no idea."

Then, to Hinata's horror, he slammed his palms to the earth, completing the summon. A loud bang and a cloud of smoke signified the jutsu's success, and Hinata raised her hands, concentrating her chakra into them, ready to deliver the deadly Jyuuken if a monster flashed into being.

She was surprised when a loud coughing was heard, followed by a high-pitched, almost screeching voice spoke in a highly annoyed tone.

"Eeeeeeeyah! What's the meaning of this? Summoning me onto flat ground, in the middle of broad daylight... don't you have any manners, any common decency?"

Hinata watched as the smoke cleared to reveal a hulking, winged form covered in dark fur. It had beady black eyes and triangular ears that looked like small caverns. Two white fangs protruded from its upper jaw, glinting evilly in the bright light. Yet, despite the appearance and the annoyed attitude, Hinata suspected that the creature was not evil at all and did not intend to harm them.

"Yabun-Hane, prince of bats," Keisuke said, recognizing the creature. "This is most fortunate!"

"What?" the enormous bat screeched. "Oh, it's you. Keisuke-san, you should have told me it was you! You know I'm as blind as you are in daylight! When did you get your hands on our contract?"

"I'll tell you later, my good prince," Keisuke responded, putting a great deal of respect into his voice, "And I'm ever so sorry for bringing you here. For now, won't you lend us your wings and get us out of this filthy hole that we've dug ourselves into in our misery?"

Yabun-Hame's ugly nostrils flared in a huge snort. "Hmmph! You SHOULD be sorry, a peasant like yourself dragging royalty out here to do the common soldier's work. But since you and your mate and young Naruto-kun helped my family two years ago, I suppose I owe you a favor..."

Keisuke did not object to being called Haruka's "mate," but instead bowed low to the creature—a fact that Hinata thought rather ridiculous since neither the man nor the bat could, in actuality, see—and almost visibly oozed with respect, blatantly sucking up to the creature.

"We would be most indebted and honored if you would lend us your undeserved aid, noble prince," he said. "Our humble, insignificant fate is in your hands, Yabun-Hame."

The bat seemed to consider for a moment, and Hinata thought he was simply dragging out his decision for dramatic effect. His high-and-mighty act nearly cost him his ear as Naruto and the demoness's clashing energies sparked, sending several bolts flying in random directions.

"All right, all right!" he screeched loudly, ducking his head. "Climb on, peasants, and hold tightly! We're leaving this mud hole, and don't think you won't owe me for this! No service is worth dragging me here!"

"Thank you, Yabun-Hame!" Keisuke cried as he and Hinata rushed onto his back, not wanting to waste any more time in deliberation. They laid Haruka out between them, Hinata grabbing onto her legs while Keisuke cradled her head and shoulders. Both of them adhered themselves to Yabun-Hame's back by focusing chakra to their knees and feet.

When he was certain that his passengers were secure, Yabun-Hame raised his head, cocked back his ears, and gave a silent screech—he was using his biological sonar, reverberating his ultrasonic voice around the cavern and listening to its echo to "see" in the manner of bats. It only took one pulse to find the way out. He flapped his massive, leathery wings, and in another moment they were airborne. Hinata's stomach lurched as they rose rapidly, climbing higher and lifting out of the cave in the space of two seconds.

Yabun-Hame began circling over the ground, banking to the left and sending out more ultrasonic pulses. While he was angled like this, Hinata could peer down, back into the hole, and see the battle taking place below through her enhanced vision.

Naruto had nearly exhausted the demoness's Hakke Kushou. As Hinata looked on, the demoness yelled in fury, broke off her attack, and leaped to the side, hoping to use Naruto's own momentum to send him and his Rasengan crashing into the wall, burying him in his own hole. Naruto was better prepared, however, and when he hit the wall his flaming tails fanned out in all directions, digging into the sides of the hole and stopping his momentum even as his jutsu drilled into the soil. Using his legs, he sprang off of the wall, leaping at his opponent in a high arc, his tails forming a protective ball around him. The demoness jumped away and came into a defensive stance as Naruto landed gracefully and began swiping at her with hands, feet, and all nine tails. It had turned into a flaming, sparking, deadly melee.

Hinata wanted to watch more, but Yabun-Hame interrupted her.

"Keisuke-san, where do you want me to set you down?" he screeched into the wind. "I can't stand flying in all this sunlight!"

Keisuke, who had had his head bowed over Haruka's unconscious body since takeoff, seemed surprised at this interruption. Hinata supposed that in his haste to get them and Haruka out of danger, he had not been thinking about what they would do once they were flying. He looked at Hinata, as though questioning what she thought they ought to do.

"I'm not sure," he said. "Hinata-san, who did you and Naruto bring with you?"

"Neji-niisan and Kiba-kun went looking through Orochimaru's base for information," she replied, "And Shino-kun and Sakura-chan came with us, looking for you. Shino-kun was attacked and separated from us, and Sakura-chan left us when we split up at a fork in the path. We... we haven't seen them since." Hinata's face grew pale as she realized that she had forgotten all about them, and that they might still be inside.

Keisuke frowned.

"I thought you might have brought friends. We're going to have to find them, too, which will take time, but at least they aren't in terrible danger. Unless they run into Orochimaru himself, which isn't likely since I take it he's focused on Uchiha Sasuke, then they should be fine."

Hinata nodded in agreement. They should find their companions as quickly as possible, especially since Sakura would be able to take care of Haruka's injuries. Naruto might also need Sakura's help, though at the moment it looked as though he would be quite fine. One never knew, though...

"Great Yabun-Hame," Keisuke shouted, "I thank you profusely for your help, but I now must ask of you another favor. I promise you that I will compensate you well if you will only help us find our comrades! All of them are noble warriors who have sacrificed much. They are far worthier of your assistance!"

The bat prince grumbled. "More work, more flying through sun? For your sake, Keisuke-san, your promises had better be genuine. My family will not treat you kindly if you are lying."

"My prince, have I ever lied to you?" Keisuke's voice was once more dripping with respect. "I have made you a promise, and I intend to keep it! Please, just fly low over the ground, so that we may search for our companions, and allow us to collect them. We will ask no more of you."

"Fine," Yabun-Hame screeched, clearly still not satisfied. "I'm feeling generous today, so I consent. I'll have you know, though, that if I get sun-blisters you are going to find yourself in a heap of guano..."

And they descended, Hinata sweeping the ground all around them as they passed less than fifty feet over the baked earth. There was no sign of life for several miles around, and they flew for several minutes without finding anything, Yabun-Hame grumbling the whole way while Keisuke wiped blood from Haruka with a strip he had torn from his already-ragged pants leg.

"Ah!"

At last, Hinata had spotted something. At least a dozen human lives near the edge of the Grave, and three of them were Shinobi. Focusing her vision more in that direction, she confirmed the location of Shino, Kiba, and Neji all at once, along with several non-shinobi that she had never met. They were lifting the strangers up the cliff with Shino's bugs. All of them were battered and weary, Shino being the strongest, Neji and Kiba needing medical help, but none of them was dying.

"What is it, Hinata-san?" Keisuke asked, cocking an ear to her to show he was listening.

"Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, and Neji-niisan are all alive," she said, "And they're climbing to safety, but two of them are going to need help. Sakura-chan will be very busy when we find her."

"If we find her fast enough," Keisuke amended. "Yabun-Hame, please fly faster! We need to get to our other companions, quickly!"

"All right, I hear you!" the great bat shrieked. "Hold on, we're going to really move now!" At that, Yabun-Hame made a sharp turn, then pumped his wings once, twice, thrice with great power. Keisuke had to grab Haruka underneath her arms to keep her from sliding off as their airspeed nearly tripled in less than ten seconds.

Hinata cast her gaze in all directions, sweeping every piece of ground in range. She even glance upward once, in hope that they might somehow have obtained a flying mount as they had...

And then the true peril was made known to her. Why she had not bothered to look up before, she did not know, but it was certainly a good thing that she had; this discovery was just a little bit important to their survival.

"Keisuke-san..."

"What is it?"

Multicolored light was swirling above their heads, high up in the sky. It had the look of a technicolor hurricane, with the exception that it had a brilliant white focal point instead of a clear eye. Lightning flashed across the edges of the storming vortex, and as she watched, it seemed to be sucking away all the light from the sky. It was brighter than the sun now, and it kept growing brighter even though its light did not shine upon the ground.

Hinata shuddered. What kind of awesome power could be so bright, and yet make the sky seem so dark? Not knowing how else to explain it to someone who could not see, she said:

"Something is up there."

OoOoOoOoO

"HAAAA!"

_CRACK._

The last poorly-set earthen barrier buckled and collapsed under Sakura's fist, clearing the way to the world outside. Light and air rushed in, and Sakura heaved a relieved sigh, wiping the sweat from her brow. Ayaka drew her makeshift head covering lower over her face; shying away from the sun and cringing at the same time; she had stolen cloth from Orochimaru's robe, and even though it kept her from the harmful rays of the sun, she could still smell the remnants of the sennin's evil. The moment she was home, the first thing she would do would be to find a proper garment.

Climbing out of the hole together, the unlikely allies found themselves amid a cluster of large rocks, behind one of which was the hole they had just emerged from. There were skid marks around the hole; apparently the rock had once been used to cover it, but Sasuke had not bothered to put it back once he had left the tunnel.

"I think he expected to be followed," Ayaka said, observing it, "But not by anyone with any speed. He only needed to slow us down as long as he was in the tunnel, and once he was on the surface he was fast enough to hide without blocking us further. He now believes that he can achieve his goal without hindering us."

"We still haven't figured out what his goal _is,_" Sakura said. "But you're right, he definitely doesn't expect us to be able to catch him. With good reason, too." She spread her arms wide, indicating the expanse of the Grave all around them, filled with nothing but dirt and dust.

"So, where do we go?" Ayaka asked.

Sakura thought for a moment. There were certainly a lot of paths to choose from...

"STAND CLEAR!!!"

A high-pitched screech turned their heads behind them, and they barely jumped out of the way as a massive black form flew straight at them. It zoomed past and began flapping it's wings hard in reverse, slowing its momentum. As they watched, it came to a stop near a large natural stone arch, inverted itself, and grabbed the top of the arch with its back legs, folding its wings around it.

"Ah, that's much better. I was beginning to need a little respite."

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Sakura said, her voice a little bit wobbly. She turned her head to look at Ayaka, who seemed completely at ease, as though a giant, talking bat were the most normal thing in the world.

"We're in luck," she answered. "Your friends are here."

She was right; as Sakura turned her head back to the bat in confusion, three forms fell from it's back. One of them—whom Sakura saw was Hinata—landed on her feet, bracing her long fall with her hands, and stood up somewhat shakily. Keisuke fell behind her, landing flat on his back with a small yelp of pain, and Haruka fell on top of him, her head and torso being cushioned by his chest. They looked like they might have been two lovers asleep together, if it weren't for the fact that both of them were bruised and bleeding quite a lot and Keisuke was clearly awake and in pain.

Sakura rushed over to them, still astonished but now much more hopeful. Hinata greeted her warmly, waving her over and smiling in clear relief. Sakura returned her greeting with a short, friendly hug.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I'll explain it to you while we work," Hinata said hurriedly. "Please, you need to tend these two quickly, so we can go back for Naruto-kun. Hurry!"

"Something happened to Naruto?" Sakura asked, making her way to the two partners.

"A monster," Hinata told her. "Keisuke-san's mother, if you'll believe me..."

"You've got to be kidding me," Sakura said, making an exasperated face as she pulled out her medical kit. "Giant talking bats, body-snatching snake hermits, runaway men, and now thousand-year-old, monster grannies... what will I be put through next?"

"You managed to surprise me, too," Hinata said, pointing at Ayaka, who stepped forward cautiously.

"I do apologize, Hyuuga-san," said the plant user. "I meant you no malice as Hikaru did. I was only following orders, which I have now seen to be unjustified orders. Sakura-san has been kind enough to trust me, for now."

"For now," Sakura echoed. She rolled Haruka off of Keisuke, who inhaled sharply once the weight was removed from him, and arranged her limbs comfortably beside him. Then she assessed them both, deciding to heal Keisuke first, as his injuries were more serious. She formed her seals rapidly, and set her hands upon the blind man's chest.

But Keisuke quickly said, "No," and pushed her hands away gently. "Tend Haruka first. I want to make sure she's all right."

Sakura found this odd. Just a short time ago she had been looked at like she had eaten someone else's main course just for suggesting that the two of them remotely cared about each other. Now Keisuke was insisting that she heal Haruka first, though she was clearly less healthy than he was? Confused though she was, she consented, and stepped around him to Haruka.

In a few moments, Haruka was fully healthy and sleeping soundly. A thunderclap sounded above them.

"Oh, don't tell me it's going to rain now," Sakura said, and looked up.

And continued looking.

"What... is that?"

"Something," Keisuke said. "That's all that Hinata here would tell me..."

"Light... that makes the sky dark around it? What _is_ that?"

Hinata was now looking at it, too. Her face had a very worried look to it. The incredible vortex of power had grown larger since she had first looked at it.

"We need to hurry," she said. "Yabun-Hame-Sama! Please come down here and take us back to where we started! I don't think we have much time left!"

"Ooh, your voice is pretty!" called the bat prince, letting go of the arch and barrel-rolling before landing with a great gust of air next to them. "Why weren't _you_ the one telling me what to do before? It would have been much more pleasant than listening to that oaf drone on like a peasant..."

"Great," Keisuke mumbled. "First I was a False Great Father, now I'm an unpleasant peasant..."

"Hold still," Sakura commanded. "I'm not finished healing you, and won't be for a while unless you cooperate."

"You're going to have to either heal him while we fly or wait until we land again, Sakura-chan," Hinata said. "At the rate that light is growing, I don't think we can afford to wait. Naruto-kun might be in a lot of trouble."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Naruto had noticed the others were gone, but had no time to think about it. He knew that he was winning the fight, but he also knew that if he allowed himself to think for too long, the enemy would take advantage and he would pay for it.

He had fought with Hiroto before, back in Konoha, and he had nearly been defeated. This was Hiroto with more power and chakra than was normal for most humans, plus the mind that pretty much created the Hyuuga. Her skill was impeccable, and her power could be lethal with one touch.

He, Uzumaki Naruto, was stronger, faster, and had more limbs, _and_ his enemy was losing energy fast. These facts became a mantra in his mind as he blocked and attacked in rapid succession, a constant stream of positive thought in his mind to ensure that no more strength was taken from him. As long as he kept this up, she would wear herself down. Without a source of despair to feed on, she was as good as dead already.

The demoness seemed to realize this as well, and this drove her to attack with greater and greater frenzy. Naruto would have to halt his advance for a few moments, but the flurry would only drain more of his opponent's power and he would soon be advancing faster than before, driving her back towards the wall.

In less than five minutes, it was over. At last, Naruto landed a grazing blow with a kick to her leg, and the demoness staggered, dropping her guard. He seized his opportunity, grabbing hold of her limbs and neck with five of his tails, and the flames made her scream in agony as she was lifted into the air. She was soon silenced, however, for Naruto threw one punch, then a second, straight into her stomach. The force of the impact caused two shockwaves, which scattered the rocky debris around them, and blood flew from her mouth.

Naruto was not finished yet, either. He released the grip of his tails, jumped, and drop-kicked her with both feet in her chest. She hurtled backwards and slammed into what must have been the last undamaged section of wall in the whole chamber. Naruto landed on his feet while she slid down the wall and fell to her knees.

"Those three blows," Naruto said, "Were for Hinata."

He formed three seals with his hands, lined up a Ghostly Arm straight at her, and fired. The demoness was blasted back again as biting cold surged through her, freezing her to the wall behind her. Black fumes seemed to be coming off of her body, and her dark aura grew thinner. She appeared to be losing the last of her power.

"That one was for Keisuke-niichan," he said, fixing her with angry red eyes. As he walked towards his beaten enemy, he held his palm up and out in front of him. A brilliant ball of blue chakra began swirling violently there. Not a trick. Not a hastily-crafted, innovative technique aimed to surprise and overcome. Just a plain, simple, bread-and-butter Rasengan. He was confident that it was all that he would need, and Haruka would appreciate the irony of it, the final trick; one who knew him would expect him to come up with something flashy, creative, but this time the trickster's lack of tricks was the trick.

The aura stopped bleeding from the demoness. She appeared to be completely out of power and out of time. It was over.

"And this..."

A great sizzling noise, drew his attention, coming from behind him. Holding the Rasengan just inches from his enemy's face, he turned his head. He could not believe what his eyes were showing him. Did this monster have no limit?!

The aura had not been bleeding off of her because she was losing power; it had been doing so because she was _using _it. A great black-and-yellow circle of power shimmered on the chamber floor in the place where they had circled each other in combat minutes before. It's black areas were darker than he had ever seen, it's yellow portions the sickliest and most evil-looking.

"The pain... that you've caused me... will be your undoing... boy," gasped the demoness. Her voice no longer reverberated in Naruto's mind like it once had. She no longer had any aura at all; she was little more than a normal-looking, mortal Hyuuga woman with eyes that were only a little bit luminescent rather than looking like melted metal. Other than that, the only change was in that she was completely healthy.

"I didn't think it would be enough," she said, "But you decided to cause some pain before killing me, and that was more than enough to complete the summoning and heal this body. I will watch you killed and walk away freely..."

And even though Naruto slammed the Rasengan down upon her, he was too late; the demoness had melted into the shadows and escaped, and his jutsu only shattered the ice that had held her. Meanwhile, the circle released its energy and the summoning began, a wall of black and yellow electricity flared up, so brilliant that Naruto could not see what was beyond it.

"Let us see how well you fare against one of your own kind, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi!"

OoOoOoOo BANGBANGBANGBANG!!! End of Chapter Twenty-Four oOoOoOoO

So... does it live up to standards? Have you had enough action? Ready to get onto the climactic ending?

STAND BY.


	27. C25: The Failure that Wasn't

**Chapter Twenty-Five: The Failure That Wasn't**

Under Hinata's sway, the prince of bats flew faster than Keisuke had ever managed to get him to fly, even in darkest night. Admittedly, though, it _was_ getting darker outside; the huge accumulation of energy hovering high above the battlefield swallowed all other lights, ensuring that only itself was bright among the clouds. As the battered shinobi passed over the enormous expanse of dirt and rock, headed for their beloved friend, they knew that one way or another, the end of the conflict in the Grave was near.

"How are you feeling now, Keisuke-san?" Sakura asked, finally setting down her medical kit. She had just finished re-bandaging all of the blind man's horrendous injuries—with proper bandages and anesthetic, this time—even including his now-empty sockets, which she had plugged with cotton balls and covered with his Hidden Leaf headband. While she thought he looked rather ridiculous wearing it like that, she had to admit that the functionality was unbeatable.

"A great deal better, thank you," Keisuke replied. He sat up, feeling the places where the bandages tightened around him. His entire chest was wrapped up, as were both of his legs and his left forearm. His right forearm was in a small splint. His raggedy clothes, with the exception of what was left of his pants, were all gone; Sakura had removed the filthy garments to reduce the chance of infection.

He wished he could have felt out with his Ghostly Arms to see how Haruka was doing, but he knew he could not, having been forced to resort to the Thirty-Two Ghostly Arms variation in his effort to escape. That technique combined the sixty-four feelers into thirty-two thicker ones, increasing his abilities, but disintegrating the arms over time. Now he had no feelers left, and because his eyes had been gouged out, he could only detect her presence by concentrating and opening himself to her chakra signature.

His bitch of a mother, he tried to reason, must have been some kind of influence on Orochimaru. Why else give him a set of eyes, if not to let him see his beloved partner the way he'd been wanting to for years and then take that sight away in cruel injustice?

"Haruka-san is doing very well, too," he heard Sakura say. Had she been reading his mind? Or...

"Is it that obvious?" he asked.

His answer came in the form of titters and giggles, which he knew were from Sakura and Hinata. For once, he decided not to let it bother him. After all, it was thanks in large part to them that he was now alive and free.

Then Hinata said, "We can move her next to you, if you like."

Visions of himself holding her flitted across his cerebrum, accompanied by memories of the tender loving care she'd administered in the prison cell.

"I'd like that."

"That would be dangerous," volunteered Ayaka. "At this speed and height, moving her around dramatically increases the chances of her falling and dying."

"Then I'll move." Deprived of vision and his Ghostly Arms, Keisuke reached out to make his way by plain, simple, skin-contact feel. He cleared his mind, allowing himself to locate his partner by the weak signal of her chakra.

"Hey, you shouldn't be moving, either!" insisted Sakura, taking hold of his arm to restrain him. "You don't want to make your condition..."

Keisuke suddenly snapped his head up towards the sky. In his attempt to feel out Haruka's chakra, something else had made itself known to him. The others quickly noticed it, too, and soon all of them were swiveling their heads looking for it.

"Do you feel that?" asked Sakura. "its massive! Where is it?"

"Hmmm?" grumbled Yabun-Hame in half-annoyed curiosity. "Pretty girl, what's going on? Keisuke-san, you had better not be playing any tricks here..." Keisuke ignored the prince. He was too busy trying to figure it out for himself.

There was silence for a moment as everyone cast their eyes and their minds about for an explanation to the massive feeling they were experiencing, but the silence was short-lived. It was soon broken by an obscenely loud, ear-splitting cracking noise that vaguely resembled thunder but was too loud to truly be interpreted by human ears. It took a few seconds for their ears to start to adjust, and then they heard Hinata's voice yelling above a loud, rumbling roar accompanied by a strange chirping noise...

"its above us!"

"Shit! Hang on!" yelled Yabun-Hame, in a manner very unlike a prince. He gave a loud, defiant screech and pumped his wings, banking away from the oncoming titanic power. The rumbling and chirping grew steadily louder as it approached, and Keisuke wondered for a moment if they were going to be hit.

However, the sound reached its peak and began to grow quieter. Keisuke let out the breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and heard Sakura sigh in highly-pronounced relief at the same time.

"What the hell was _THAT?"_

Keisuke's heart jumped as he realized who had spoken.

"Haruka-san, you're awake!" exclaimed Hinata.

The blind man put on his best smile, the one he always wore before he and Haruka started a practice duel. He felt her chakra surge; Sakura had done a good job, and she was strong as ever. He found himself feeling extremely grateful to the girl.

Still, those facts didn't answer Haruka's question, which also happened to be his own question. Just what _was_ that huge power he had felt shoot past them, making all that noise? It was so brilliant that he could not ascertain his nature at the first detection, but it was so large that he couldn't help but assume the worst. If that thing was a new enemy, it would not be an easy one to escape from.

"its heading below..." Hinata began, but then she gasped as she came to a terrible realization. "... No, its headed back where we came from! Naruto-kun's fight..."

"Oi, Yabun-Hame!" Keisuke yelled, forgetting all respect for nobility, "Get us down there now! No time left!"

"Keisuke, you're going to owe me a lifetime when I'm through with you!" the bat shrieked. However, he wasted no time in following the instruction; he, too, could feel that this was no small matter. As they landed and he allowed his passengers to disembark, he remained on the ground in the dirt, where he normally would never see fit to lie, and emitted repetitive ultrasonic waves, observing the events below.

Like the others, he was given a scare that would remain in his memory forever.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Naruto growled in barely suppressed anger. Where had that nasty granny gone off to? What the hell was this thing she was leaving him with? He knew it was strong, that was for sure; the wall of power surrounding the summoning circle was more than indicative of that, with its massive chakra and electrical force. The sparking, crackling power reminded him of Hikaru's futile rage back down in the depths of the facility, but at the same time, he knew it was much larger.

He kept Kyuubi's power burning hot in himself, knowing that the need for it was not yet over by a long shot. Nine fiery tails raised themselves protectively in front of his body, shielding him against the wind and the debris that was being thrown up everywhere. Naruto waited, crouched in his defensive stance, wishing that he knew where to find the demoness so he could make her regret this. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that yet—not until he knew exactly what it was he was up against now.

It was only another short moment that he had to wait. Feeling the large power concentrating, reaching upward, Naruto looked toward the sky and saw an object hurtling toward him from the brightly darkened sky. It appeared to be a ball of flame and sparks, like an electrically charged meteor falling from the heavens. He could detect the enormous power coming from it, and he sensed the connection between it and the summoning circle. The circle's power was drawing this thing into it like a chakra suction.

As it neared the ground, Naruto braced himself for a gigantic impact that could collapse the room on him, but that turned out not to be necessary. The impact _was_ heavy, but the thing did not hit like a meteor at all; instead, it landed catlike on four clawed legs, and it was the horrendous howling it made afterward that nearly collapsed the walls.

Naruto's eyes watched the circle expire, its job complete, and the wall of electricity disappear, revealing his new enemy... "one of his own kind," as the demoness had put it. This thing was nothing like him—it was massive, looked like a weasel, had yellow fur that stood on end and sparked when it moved, and had black, beady eyes that looked at him like a piece of meat—therefore Naruto assumed that Keisuke's mom must have meant that it was one of his demon tenant's own kind. He looked around the weasel's head to its back end. Sure enough, there were multiple tails—six of them, bent and forked like lighting and with hairs on them that were straight and pointy as spikes.

His head turned upward and behind him when he heard a loud cackling behind him. He'd found the demoness, finally, if it was just a bit too late. She was still in her feeble human state, no dark power left in her at all, but that was hardly necessary now that there was a Bijuu in play, and she knew this as well as he did.

"I concede that you are stronger than me," she called. "Another few minutes, and I would have been finished. You have a powerful demon within you indeed, Uzumaki Naruto, but all that is behind us now. Very shortly, you will be vaporized."

Naruto sized up the Rokubi, noting its enormous chakra, its great electrical charge—he was pretty sure that the big weasel could use that at will—and its huge claws and spiky fur. Not to mention, it was as big as the Hokage's tower. He gave the ancient hag a cocky grin.

"Nah," he told her, "I can beat this one, too. He's big, but he's got almost no room to move in this room. He's got a lot of chakra, but I have more—my own plus Kyuubi's. He's got lightning, but I've got wind, which means he'll just be wasting his energy. It might take a while, but I'll bring this monster down. The thing you have to realize is that once I really get going, there isn't much anyone can do to stop me."

The evil woman smiled nastily at him in kind. Naruto's grin vanished; she had something up her sleeve.

"It doesn't matter," she seethed. "He doesn't have to defeat you. He only has to keep you busy until those Akatsuki dunderheads that Orochimaru has been so worried about finally manage to aim correctly... which, if the light in the sky right above us is any indication, should be just about any minute now."

Naruto looked up again. She was definitely right about something going on up there. Was it really Akatsuki, though? He supposed it would make sense. Akatsuki didn't like Orochimaru much, and now there were two of the tailed monsters under their nose. He swallowed heavily as he came to the realization that unless he managed to get by this monster quick, he was not likely to live through the afternoon.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Down there!" Hinata yelled, pointing at the huge thing that engulfed what was left of the chamber. Her face had gone very pale with horror at the sight of the bijuu, and she searched the area desperately, trying to find some sign that Naruto was still alive in there somewhere.

Keisuke stepped up, supported by Haruka and Sakura, to the rim of the sunken battleground. He had no feelers to confirm his fears, but he had no need of them. He recognized the beast from his childhood days, just as evil and as potent as before, and he also found himself in a considerable state of dismay. Granted, there was nothing left of his old home to destroy anymore, but there _was_ Naruto and, if Rokubi managed to destroy him, the rest of their party, plus whoever else his demon mother thought she wanted dead.

"Demons summoning demons," he said to himself. "Who'd have thunk it?"

"Wow," Haruka said, looking on in amazement, "Your past is really catching up with you lately, isn't it? I guess its only like you to drag us into it, moron..." Even as she insulted him verbally, she grasped his hand and squeezed it until he felt it was about to fall off. Both actions made him comfortable; here was something that he could deal with. He grasped her hand firmly in return, and he felt a change in her attitude, as though she were taking heart from his attention.

He felt another change in her aura as her Byakugan flared to life. She released his hand and walked off to one side of the group, trying to get a better view around the Rokubi, whose immense power created a bright blind spot even in her vision.

The others also did what they could to try to see the fight better. Ayaka reached into a pouch at her waist and, after digging for a long moment, managed to find one last seed. Clasping it in one hand, she whispered words to it and formed seals with the other hand. Immediately, a thin, wiry vine began wrapping itself around her arm, and she leaned over, dangling her hand over the cliff face so that it could grow down that way. Small pods began to form on the vine, and these started to vibrate.

"Hey, what is this?" Yabun-Hame protested. "Those things are interfering with my ultrasound! Cut that out!"

"The vibrations from these plant pods are much smaller," Ayaka assured the animal dispassionately. "At most, they will only blur your picture a little. You should still be able to make out what is happening."

Yabun-Hame made a pout face, but decided he would rather accept it than fly in there and put himself in danger just to remove a few weeds. The girl was right, anyway; he could still catch most of what was going on. Sakura crouched between the two of them, the only one without such a useful ability as ultrasound or Byakugan, hoping that they would have the decency to keep her informed. In the meantime, she looked on the events below with her normal vision, seeing what she was able.

Sakura didn't need special vision, however, to see what happened next. The Rokubi gave a sudden howl and leaped into the air, once again becoming a ball of flame and sparks. Apparently, it could fly about this way, using its immense electrical power to combust the air create a fire that served the same function as a rocket.

"It can fly!" she exclaimed.

This realization caused Yabun-Hame to give a loud screech of terror. He'd assumed the sky could be his refuge, and the discovery that he was not safe even up there was not a welcome one. Were he not a noble prince and afraid of nothing—and immediately soothed by the beautiful Hinata and seized by the legs by the too-strong Sakura—he would have taken off right then and there.

Keisuke paid all of this little attention, for a thought had occurred to him that caused him some discomfort. If his mother had had to resort to summoning Rokubi, she must not have been powerful enough to defeat Naruto. Was she dead, then? If not, then where had she gone? If she were alive, she would, most likely, grow strong again as she had before, feeding off humanity's sorrows, and eventually she would be able to once again summon this monstrosity or others, unleashing it on more villages. There could potentially be many more instances of The Grave.

"Haruka," he said, "We have to try to find my mother. If she's survived, she could be a major threat to our home in the future."

He was answered with silence. Sudden alarm spread through him as he realized that he could not feel her aura nearby.

"Haruka?" he repeated fearfully. "Damn it! Everybody, help me find Haruka! She's gone off on her own somewhere."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The demoness laughed inwardly as she clung to the wall, affixed by chakra, watching the battle taking place. The boy had already made one mistake in thinking that the Rokubi would be hampered by the relatively small size of the chamber. Ability to fly opened up a whole new level of freedom for the giant electric weasel. From up there, it could attack the boy without having to fear retaliation from the land-bound creature.

Hovering a good distance above them, the beast let loose a howl that shook the whole place, and released its massive electrical charge upon its target. Naruto made use of his power over wind, calling up a Razor Wall jutsu to repel the blast. The demoness noted that the boy had to increase his power output substantially when the blast hit to avoid having his jutsu fizzle out against the overwhelming shock. She smiled wickedly; he was good, but Naruto would never overcome Rokubi fast enough to escape the attack that those Akatsuki fools would unleash on him.

Speaking of which, she should probably get out of there herself if she wanted any hope of escaping to terrorize the Hyuuga. She'd already expended all of her demonic power and had no victims to drain, so she would be traveling as an ordinary human for much of the distance. Turning upward and starting to walk up the cliff face, she intended to run quickly out of the grave and start her long trek immediately...

Unfortunately for her, someone else had other ideas. The moment she turned around, she was hit squarely in the chest by two human feet, and sent skidding down the vertical ground several yards before she could recover her balance. Enraged, she looked up into the face of her enemy, determined to crush whoever was getting in her way.

Her silver eyes grew wide as saucers when she found Haruka standing over her, bathed in a chakra that was the same sickly yellow color which burned in the Caged Bird on her forehead. The demoness recognized that chakra—it belonged to Keisuke, who had inherited it from her. Yet the demonic taint had never been this prominent, even when Keisuke was at his most violent.

"You," she called to Haruka. "You're one of the ones I've beaten before. Where did you get that power? All Hyuuga are descended from me, but only Keisuke would have the ability to make use of that tainted chakra. Your human heritage should far outweigh my influence..."

"That would've been the case," Haruka interrupted, "Had Keisuke not been such a friendly drunk, and put this funny little cap on my seal a while back." She indicated her forehead and the Caged Bird Seal that glowed yellow there. The demoness was alarmed to find that the source of the taint in Haruka did indeed stem from there. Her glowing silver eyes narrowed.

"I see," she said. "So my son infused your seal with his taint, preventing any of the Main Family from using it to kill you. An innovative trick on my son's part. I assume you can freely control it?"

Haruka's face was confident, bold, and fiery. Her hands, extended palm-open in the Jyuuken style, brimmed with her own power and with Keisuke's.

"Until now," she admitted, "The only thing I could ever use it for was to change my chakra to avoid being detected by those who could sense and identify it. They would think I was Keisuke just going about his business and stop chasing me. Even using it for that, though, I couldn't maintain it for very long. Your little lackey Hiroto changed all of that."

"Hiroto?" the demoness growled. "The only thing he was concerned with was to provide me a body. He can't possibly have found it in his heart to help someone like you."

Haruka flashed her Sadist's grin, causing the demoness to flinch and burn with sudden anger.

"I never said he helped me willingly," she said. "The snooty bastard, in trying to scare us while he did his magic, let out an important secret. Want to know what it is? He explained why Keisuke can't really use the power he got from being related to you. The blind idiot doesn't like to watch his victims squirm before they die. He doesn't take pleasure in cutting a bloody path through armies, doesn't appreciate the rush that comes with seeing the fear and pain in their faces."

As Keisuke's mother began to realize that her enemy was one-hundred percent right, she began to feel afraid. Her fear grew as she watched the yellow taint to Haruka's power grow even stronger. She knew that her own fear was feeding her enemy, but she could not suppress the feeling; the demoness that fed on fear was not learned in controlling fear for herself.

"You won't!" she cried frantically, throwing up her palms. She was desperate to get this woman away from her, this foul woman who dared use her own power against her. "You won't win this! **Hakke Kushou!**"

The gale-force chakra whirlwind was countered by Haruka's own Hakke Kushou, and the two forces met in midair. Razor-sharp gusts split off from the point of contact. For a moment, the two women were locked in a stalemate. That didn't last long, however. The demoness's fear continued to grow as she realized that she was losing. Haruka's sadistic grin was amplified by even more dark yellow power.

"**Hakke Kushou ni no Tachi!**"

Haruka's vortex suddenly reversed its direction, pulling inward with its force instead of pushing out. The demoness's whirlwind, which was already swirling in that same direction, was assimilated by Haruka's and enhanced the inward pull. Keisuke's mother was pulled rapidly upward, against gravity and her own will, towards Haruka before she even realized her error.

She saw Haruka's palm rear back, filled with the power that Keisuke had given her one night in a bar, made stronger by her enemy's terror, which now peaked at the grim realization that she was hurtling toward death with no way to stop herself. Desperately she flailed about, trying to escape, but all her efforts were futile and both of them knew it.

"**JYUUKEN!**"

All the breath was knocked out of her, and she suspected that her innards had all been liquefied by the force of the attack. Her whole body felt aflame with the agony, and she knew that she was already dead. It was only a matter of time. The silver glow in her eyes fading, her Byakugan receding, she looked up into the face of her conquerer, helpless as the mortals that she had destroyed in the past.

"How does it feel," Haruka asked, looming with black anger over her prey, "To be the victim of your own terror? What is it like to be powerless and broken at the feet of a mere mortal, the same kind of person who you used to feast on? DOES IT HURT?"

"You..." gasped the dying demoness, "Are a... monster. Like me... evil, sadistic..."

"Wrong," Haruka spat, releasing her dark yellow power. She returned to her normal self, with her normal Hyuuga chakra, appearing before her destroyed enemy as any other human would have. "I'm a Sadist, but I'm not like you. I only terrorize evil bitches like you, and leave the good people alone, because you, unlike the people you killed, deserve it."

The demoness could no longer speak. Her life was on its last few heartbeats. She looked on Haruka in defiance, longing to reach out and swat her, but unable to.

"And personally," Haruka finished, leaning in to whisper in her ear, "I like to think there's only _one_ Sadist in Keisuke's life, thank you very much."

The silver eyes rolled up into the back of Hiroto's head. The illusion of the demoness vanished, leaving behind only Hiroto's mangled corpse, which plummeted to the battleground below and splattered into many pieces. The pieces were soon buried by stone and soil that flew back from the clash of Naruto and Rokubi.

Haruka stood alone in her triumph, satisfied that the nightmare was finally over, but at the same time feeling drained. Such a large amount of evil energy pulsing through her had made her feel high, almost giddy while it lasted, but now that it was over she was feeling sluggish, sapped. On top of that, she was tired from all of the fighting she had done earlier. Now would have been a good time to leave this crater, before she got caught in the crossfire between the two battling titans nearby and was too slow to escape safely. She made ready to climb back up to the Grave's barren surface.

Up she ran, gunning as fast as she could for the edge of the cliff. She found, however, that she was more tired than she first imagined. Her legs just didn't want to run, and she had to concentrate hard in order to get her chakra to stick her to the vertical surface. Her head was pounding; she felt somewhat hung-over.

"Ugh," she said to herself, "What the hell is wrong with me all of a sudden? I can't be this tired, can I? After all that, I should still have _some_ energy left..."

She was interrupted by a loud roaring noise that came from above. Immediately she directed her eyes upward, looking for what had made it. It did not take her a long time at all to find.

"No way," she said, not wanting to believe it.

Yet as the curtain of multicolored chakra fell from the heavens, surrounding the battlefield and preventing all means of escape, disbelief quickly became impossible.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"This isn't good," Yabun-Hame said. "This weird wall definitely doesn't feel friendly!"

"I'm inclined to agree," Keisuke said. He could feel its chakra surrounding them, several times more voluminous than either Rokubi's or Naruto's. "If it were concentrated, it would annihilate us in one shot. It looks like whoever's making it is aiming to prevent us from leaving rather than destroy us, though."

"Perhaps not," Ayaka said. "Take a closer look. The wall of chakra is not stationary."

"Definitely not," Yabun-Hame agreed.

Hinata, Sakura, and Keisuke observed carefully. At first, they could not pick up any change in it at all. To them, it looked like it was standing quite still. After a moment, however, Hinata gave a small gasp as her acute vision noticed the minute changes. Sakura recognized it soon after, and her voice shook with the deadly implication.

"its constricting," she said. "its very slow, but that wall is closing in on us."

Ayaka nodded, then turned to Keisuke. "You were right when you said that we were not meant to escape. That does not mean that we are to be captured alive."

The group quickly went quiet, and Yabun-Hame began shaking nervously. Some of them had been paying attention to the repeated blasts that this force had been pounding the base with all day, but none of them had suspected that it was capable of this. Whatever was in control of this had some amazing focus to be able to handle chakra in such a manner.

"Hey, uhm..." the Bat Prince began, gulping down fear. "You, ah, don't have a plan for getting us out of this, do you?"

That was a very good question. There were no holes in this wall as far as they knew, and the tunnels that led into the battlefield chamber from the rest of Orochimaru's base were either caved in or blocked by debris at this point. All around them was constricting death. In the center, a struggle raged between two demonic forces, either one of which could easily squash them all. Haruka was missing. Keisuke was wounded and would slow them down. Yabun-Hame was afraid to fly because of the Rokubi. The matter of getting out of this mess seemed, at this point, an unanswerable question...

For normal people, at least. Not for the man whose voice brought them all whirling about and staring in shock.

"_I_ have a plan," he told them quietly.

They all looked—except for Keisuke—upon Uchiha Sasuke with a mixture of surprise, fear, respect, anger, and sheer awe. His red eyes blazed with the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, but he did not unleash it upon them as some of them might have expected. His raven-colored hair blowing in the wind, he looked almost serene in spite of the deadly force that everyone knew he carried inside of him. He had the look of a man who was resigned to a plan of action and would not be stopped... who knew that he _couldn't _be stopped.

Keisuke, by contrast, felt the power in this young man, and respected it, but had no fear of it. He knew that this was the same man that had helped him and Haruka escape from Orochimaru's prison, and he would not have done so simply to let them die here. Even if he had some use for them later, Sasuke intended to help them live through the day, and Keisuke was sure of this. The blind man stood, turning toward him.

"What's your plan?" he asked gruffly.

Hinata and Sakura looked at Keisuke, completely bewildered. Did he not know who this was? Surely not, or he would be begging for their lives right now instead of asking what his plan for saving the day was. Ayaka, however, looked over to Keisuke and nodded her head in understanding. She, too, knew that the Uchiha had come to save them; she, after all, still had a "purpose" to fulfill on his behalf.

"Rokubi must be repelled," Sasuke said. "If it isn't, Naruto might not escape in time. Hinata should help him perform his Fuuton Rasengan technique. He can figure out what to do from there."

Hinata almost didn't believe her ears. This convict that she and Naruto had beaten back in Konoha was actually telling them what to do, and to help them _escape,_ no less. Confusion showed through on her face.

Sasuke looked at her dispassionately, the cool face of logic.

"I saved your companions back in the forest," he said, "And I helped Keisuke escape from his prison."

"I don't believe it!" Sakura hissed. "He's the one responsible for all of this, I'll bet. Killed Orochimaru, and now he wants his other opposition out of the way..."

"But he did liberate me and Haruka," Keisuke said. "He also gave me the summoning scroll for Yabun-Hame. Believe me, Hinata, Sakura, he wants to help us."

That shut Sakura up. She had been so convinced that Sasuke had gone completely over the edge into darkness, but now Keisuke was on his side. How was this possible? Surely Sasuke, the power-hungry jerk, didn't mean to atone for his crimes after all this time.

"Once Rokubi is out of the way, and Naruto is with your group," Sasuke continued, "You'll have to be ready to move quickly. I can break the wall, but there isn't any guarantee that I can keep it broken. Once an opening is made, you have to escape immediately and get out of the Grave."

"What about Haruka?" Keisuke asked, a solemn look on his face.

"If you want to save your friend," Sasuke said, "You had better move quickly."

"All right, then," Keisuke assented. "Hinata, Yabun-Hame, let's go. We'll drop Hinata with Naruto and then find Haruka. The rest of you wait here and be ready to run."

Hinata was still unsure of Sasuke's intent, but she understood the need to find Haruka and help Naruto. She jumped onto Yabun-Hame's back and focused her eyesight in a wide arc, looking for their friends. It was not hard to find Naruto—he was putting out a monstrous level of power—and she located Haruka making her way carefully down the rock wall towards the ground a moment later.

"Please, Yabun-Hame," she said soothingly, "Take us to them. We won't be in there very long, I promise, and then you can go home."

"Ah, damn it! I can't say no to you!" cried the Bat Prince. "This is going to kill me, I swear on my father the King's grave..."

"Your father isn't dead," Keisuke pointed out, causing Yabun-Hame to lift off so quickly that he almost tumbled off.

"You're lucky I didn't just leave you there in the first place, Keisuke! Now shut up, we're doing this now and I don't need to be distracted!"

With that, the bat and his passengers dived down out of sight. Sasuke, Sakura, and Ayaka were left together on the ledge.

Sakura turned to Sasuke. He was simply standing where he was when he had arrived, gazing unfazed out at the chaos. Except for the red, shuriken-pupiled eyes, he looked every bit the Sasuke that she had once known: cool-headed, focused, determined to succeed and protect his friends.

"You must want something from us," she said to him, trying to get his attention. "You're going to have us do something for you when this is over."

He turned to look back at her, and she suddenly found herself losing hold of her anger at him. His expression was so much like the one he had worn in the old days, so calm, yet full of life. A familiar feeling began to spread through her, and against her better judgment she began feeling as though she could trust him.

"If I fail," he said, and his expression saddened, "I'm relying on you and Naruto to kill him for me."

By _him_ Sakura knew that he meant Itachi. Was he the one behind this strange destructive force in the sky? That seemed to make a lot of sense, Itachi being among the most powerful shinobi who ever lived.

"Akatsuki's involved in all of this, aren't they?" she asked.

Sasuke gave a nod.

"I can defeat them here, but if I don't survive it will be up to you two to finish them."

"But you're Uchiha Sasuke, the avenger," Sakura said. "There's no way you would die now..."

"We'll see."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Naruto was breathing heavily, sucking in as much oxygen as his lungs would hold. He needed it to sustain his effort against such a powerful monster. He was still confident that he could win, but he was now conscious of the threat closing in from above and had pulled out all the stops. If he didn't put out his utmost effort now, he would not be able to finish this in time to escape.

His hands whipped through seals and his lungs expanded to hold the air for his attack. He imbued each molecule of the air with his potent wind chakra, and then let it fly. The Renkuudan air ball slammed into the big weasel's head, making it scream in pain. It left its perch in the air to come crashing back down to earth, claws extended, wanting to tear him into pieces.

Naruto was so busy recovering from his expenditure of energy that he almost didn't dodge the swipe of the Bijuu's paw. He felt the tingle of static electricity from its body as it cleft the boulder he'd been standing on, and beads of sweat flew off of his head. The monster swiped again, and twice more, each time missing him, but each time coming closer than the last and leaving increasingly big gouges in the ground.

"Damn it," he said, finally coming to rest against the far wall, "You're pretty fast, big guy. You might even have me beat on a bad day.

_Although today might be that bad day, _he added silently. _its not looking real good at the moment. If I had the time to wear him down, this would be a lot easier..._ he cast a quick glance upward... _but time's just running out faster and faster now._

The Rokubi snarled and bared its teeth. It had become extremely angry that such a small morsel had bested it. It wanted revenge, and it wanted it now. _Here it comes, _he thought, and raised all his tails and arms against the coming attack.

The attack was put off momentarily, however. A deafening screech pierced both his ears and the ears of the Rokubi, causing them both to cover their ears in pain. Naruto recovered first... the sound had been closer to the enemy than it had been to him. He looked around, trying to figure out where it had come from.

"Naruto-kun!"

The voice was music to his ears. He looked up to see a gigantic winged creature fly over his head and dump a person from its back above him. Midnight hair flowed with the wind and the athletic, supple form dropped down next to him. She landed with perfect balance and beheld him with fierce, willful pearly eyes.

"Hinata!" he exclaimed. "You couldn't have picked a better time..."

"We have to slow down the Rokubi," she said, interrupting him, "At least until the others finish their parts. Keisuke-san is going to pick up Haruka-san..." she pointed to the other end of the chamber, where the bat was flying next. Naruto could make out the form of a man on the creature's back, flying towards a figure struggling on the cliff face.

"And then what?" Naruto asked, turning to look at Rokubi again. "That barrier around the place is almost solid chakra, and its stronger than mine."

"Sasuke is here," Hinata said. "He says he can make an exit for us."

Naruto's focus fell so fast that he almost lost hold of Kyuubi's power. He stared at Hinata incredulously, as though he had not quite understood what she was saying. He forgot that Rokubi was about to recover. All he wanted now was an answer to Sasuke's unexplained appearance.

"I don't know why he wants to help us," Hinata went on, "But Keisuke-san trusts him, and I can't see how we can get out on our own."

Naruto blinked, taking it all in. Then, quite to Hinata's surprise, he smiled.

"That guy," he said. "I didn't think I'd ever get through to him, but it looks like I finally have, at least for now..."

The Rokubi finally recovered itself, and blasted away in a rage, not caring what its lightning hit. Hinata saw Yabun-Hame almost take a hit, forcing Keisuke to pull away from Haruka to avoid the danger. The effort to retrieve Haruka was no longer going smoothly. Naruto remembered where he was, and what it was he had to do.

"Let's end this thing, right now," he said. He seemed to have taken the news of Sasuke's return to heart. In his hand, the Rasengan took shape.

Hinata nodded, smiling at him. He was back in his prime, the proud and powerful Uzumaki Naruto. She took hold of the spiraling chakra and retained it in a perfect sphere, allowing him to concentrate on changing its nature. In a moment, the bright ball of wind-powered destruction was complete, and Naruto looked at Hinata, grinning happily. Flaming tails, red eyes, canine fangs, and all, he was the very image of youthful energy. In spite of the current circumstances, she couldn't help but laugh a little.

"I'm really glad you came with me," he told her, causing her to flush with pleasure.

Rokubi howled in frustration. its anger had completely eradicated its common sense, and the walls were rapidly deteriorating under its assault even as the chakra wall shrank towards them. Some of the chakra wall was even inside the chamber now. It was time.

"Together?" Naruto asked.

Hinata smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yes!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The terrible ripping noise and the agonized howling announced that Rokubi had been defeated. Sasuke looked over the edge of the rock to confirm it for himself. He saw Naruto and Hinata pressing the Fuuton Rasengan even further into the monster's hide, and watched as the force finally propelled it back against the stone walls, then _through _the stone, and finally into Akatsuki's constricting chakra trap, where it howled again as it was disintegrated.

"What just happened?" Sakura asked. "Where did it go? Did that wall kill it?"

"No," Sasuke announced, watching carefully through his Sharingan. "Akatsuki's weapon destroyed its physical body, and took its chakra into itself. The weapon will become even stronger now."

Even as he said so, his words were being proven true. The whole wall flared with newfound power, and began constricting more quickly.

"It uses Bijuu chakra as a pure destructive tool," Sasuke continued. "My brother, with his Sharingan, interfaces with the weapon module and controls the chakra. Defeat him, and the weapon is useless."

"Bijuu power?" Sakura asked. "How many Bijuu do they have?"

"Six, now that they have taken Rokubi," Sasuke replied.

"And Itachi?" Sakura asked. "How are you going to beat him from here?"

Sasuke folded his arms and peered up at the sky, the point where he could no longer track the source of the power.

"I'll find a way. After all, I now have the Mangekyou Sharingan, too."

"The wall is quite close to us now," Ayaka interrupted. "We should move."

Sasuke nodded his agreement, and leaped down the rock face. Rokubi's rampage had put several footholds on it, so that they could leap down in increments. In moments, they had joined Naruto and Hinata down at the base.

Naruto and Sasuke traded glances. Naruto's power had dissipated; his eyes had returned to their normal blue, and his tails were vanished into their base Ghostly Arms. He was smiling. After a moment, Sasuke smiled back at him. There was too much to say between them and, unfortunately, no time to say it.

Sasuke thought he had lost his friend forever by betraying him, a pain that had brought him power. It seemed, however, that Naruto had always believed he would come back. Such faithfulness put a warmth in the Avenger's soul that he had not allowed himself to feel in years, and made him even stronger. What it would have been like if Naruto had succeeded in retrieving him, those years ago...

But all that was past now. It was time to atone for the pain he had caused.

"We had it," Naruto said, putting one arm around Hinata and one above his head. "You got it."

Sasuke nodded. The walls were closing in, but there was more than enough time now. Focusing his mind, he drew on the power of the Cursed Seal. His skin mottled, turning dark and abrasive. Gray splotching spread over his lengthening hair, and he slipped out of his shirt as the ugly wings sprouted from his back. His eyes, except for the burning Sharingan, were all black.

"I'll draw the chakra towards me," he told Naruto. "It will create a hole in the wall. Run through and get out of the Grave as fast as you can. Don't wait for me, or you might be killed."

"Got it," Naruto said, still smiling. "Thanks, Sasuke."

Sasuke smirked back. "You don't even know, bonehead. Thank _you._"

Then Sasuke turned to Sakura. She was looking at him with obvious mixed emotion, unsure of how to react. He couldn't help but grin. He'd never admit it, but he'd missed her, too, and regretted leaving her behind without any closure. But he knew that she was a strong woman now. She would survive.

He pumped his wings, bent his legs, and launched into the air. He'd said goodbye to his friends, possibly for good. If he were to die now—a good possibility, though he'd fight to his last breath—he felt that he'd said enough.

His smile vanished, and his face became all business. It was just him and Itachi now.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Naruto and his friends watched Sasuke rise high into the air, lifting towards the source of Akatsuki's weapon. It was majestic, the way he flew now; if it were not for his hideous appearance, he might have been mistaken for some kind of avatar of god. He climbed so high that Naruto had Hinata synchronize to him to use her eyes, because his own eyes only saw a speck in the air.

At last they saw Sasuke stop, hover stationary for a few moments, and then throw back his head and spread his arms to the wind. Immediately, the chakra answered his call, and began to funnel toward him instead of flowing downward. Where it touched him, a humongous clash of darkness and light ensued, causing bright flashes in the sky.

"Look!" Naruto yelled. "He's doing it!"

Sure enough, he was. The chakra parted, leaving an opening large enough for twenty men to walk abreast. For a moment, they simply watched, in awe of Sasuke's masterful control. Eventually, however, they came to their senses.

"We'd better go," Sakura said. "We don't know how long he can keep this up."

"Right," Naruto agreed, snapping his head back to earth. "Let's go! Hinata, stay close to me, I want to know right away if anything changes up there."

"I understand!" Hinata asserted.

Ayaka was already outside of the weapon's range, having no desire to stay and watch. Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura sprinted after her, and in moments were outside of it themselves. They rapidly caught up to the plant-user and found, much to their delight, that a familiar young man was with her.

"Shino!" Naruto cried in excitement.

"Naruto," Shino acknowledged. "I am glad to see that you survived, and brought Hinata and Sakura with you. However, I am curious as to your other company..."

"I have not broken our deal," Ayaka said, her eye catching his warily.

"I don't doubt you," Shino reassured her. "But, Naruto, where are Keisuke and Haruka?"

Naruto's face paled as he realized that he did not know. In his excitement over Sasuke's change of heart, he had forgotten all about them. Fearing the worst, he turned to look back at the closing chakra wall. The gap was still there, thankfully, so there was still a chance that they could get out, but they were nowhere in sight.

"Damn!" he swore. "Nii-chan was going after Nee-chan, last I saw them..."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata alerted him, "Look up there!"

Yabun-Hame came screaming through the gap in the wall, the tips of his wings barely grazing the edges. It apparently hurt, for he let out a screech that was worse than the one that deafened Rokubi, and he barely managed to flap himself the short distance toward the party before he fell, exhausted, to the ground, where he skidded a good thirty yards before coming to a rest.

"That," he panted, "Is the LAST time I listen to that filthy commoner..." And he vanished in a flash and a puff of pungent smoke, leaving his passengers behind.

Sakura rushed over to them, determined to see how badly they were hurt. Naruto and Hinata followed.

"Well, isn't that something," Sakura said, a sly smirk playing on her lips. Naruto looked down at his adopted siblings, and laughed, inclined to agree that it was.

Keisuke and Haruka, both totally unconscious and battered, but obviously alive and stable, lay side by side on their backs, their hands clasped firmly together. An expression of victory was on both of their faces; they must have been having good dreams.

"They're so peaceful," remarked Hinata.

"Yeah," Naruto said, "But they could definitely use a bath."

"And so could the two of you," Sakura rebuked. "You're a mess."

"Perhaps all four of them simultaneously," Shino suggested. "I noted a suitable river just outside of the Grave..."

"Hey, that's enough of that!" Naruto yelled, but it was too late; Shino's attempt to lighten the mood had worked, and Sakura was already laughing, imagining the four of them bathing together.

_Well, so much for that, _he thought. _But hopefully we can avoid any more._

"Seriously!" he said. "We've got to keep moving. Sasuke doesn't know how long he can keep this up, and we might get hurt or killed if it backfires. We have to get out of this place, now."

"Then I will take you to where the others are," Shino said. "Follow me."

They started on their way out of the Grave, Naruto hauling Keisuke and Shino supporting Haruka with his bugs. All of them were tired, but they had energy to run, at least. They would be in the safety of the woodlands within an hour.

As they ran, Naruto took one final look behind him, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sasuke. The light of the immense chakra was too bright, however, having constricted down to a single focused beam of power. There was no way to tell what had become of his lost friend. That suited him just fine; there was still work to be done, and worrying about this would only distract him.

Whether Sasuke lived or died, however, he resolved that he would not be sad. Three years ago he had promised Sakura that he would bring their raven-haired, ill-tempered comrade back, a promise that had seemingly failed. Yet now, he believed that Sasuke had found redemption... the failure was no longer a failure at all, but had become a blessing that had saved all their lives.

"Good luck, Sasuke," he said quietly, turning back to his friends, "Wherever you're going..."

"Did you say something, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. She ran alongside him, peering at his face with mild concern.

"Nothing, Hinata-chan," he said, smiling brightly. "Say... when we get home, you want to go out again?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

There was brightness all around him, engulfing him, swallowing him. It burned through him, causing him horrible pain even as he experienced the satisfaction of knowing that his friends had escaped safely. Such pain he had never felt in all of his shadowed life, not even under Orochimaru's sometimes cruel tutelage. He felt sure that he was going to burst with it.

Sasuke didn't complain. It was his penance for all the dark deeds that he had perpetrated in his quest for power. He deserved this, and he welcomed it gladly. The pain was cleansing him, removing the heaviness of all his crimes and making him a real person again instead of a monster.

And after all of that was removed, he was pure. Uchiha Sasuke was finally the person he was meant to be all along; not only an Avenger, but also a Protector and a friend. He took comfort in that knowledge, and felt himself grow stronger from it. He had more strength than he'd ever had before, because he was his complete self, succeeding as a Protector where he had yet to succeed as an Avenger.

_Not to worry, though, _he said to himself. _I'll succeed at that soon enough. _

He pushed his consciousness, propelled by his newfound focus and the power of his Mangekyou Sharingan, upward, following the current of the chakra to its source. His power was no longer limited, and within moments, he was in the presence of his wayward brother.

Itachi detected him immediately. He stared through Sasuke with eyes of disappointment.

_You have grown stronger than ever, _he said, _but you still carry the weaknesses you had before. You have passions other than your hatred which hinder you. _

"I'm not hindered at all," Sasuke replied. "And soon enough, you'll find out that my 'other passions' will be the ones that put you down."

_If you infer that you will destroy me today, you are mistaken. In your present state, you do not have the power to kill me. The power of the Bijuu answers my command, and I am far away. _

Sasuke took stock of his position briefly, and realized that his brother was right. He could not kill Itachi, and already his body was so badly damaged that he was unlikely to survive, even if he fled now. A total victory was impossible now.

"Well," he said, "That's just too bad, isn't it? I suppose I'll have to settle for hurting you, then, and let them handle the rest."

_Don't be ridiculous. You cannot even touch me. _

"Is that so?" Sasuke said. "We'll find out, won't we?"

He focused his will, magnifying his power to its maximum level. Chakra burst forth from his body and swirled all around him, mixing with the Bijuu chakra. Normally doing this was unthinkable, since drawing on such unimaginable energy from the Curse Seal meant almost certain death.

Death no longer concerned Uchiha Sasuke, the Avenger and Protector.

He could not seize control of all of the Bijuu chakra, for Itachi's weapon intensified his influence over it. It was enough to do the job, however. When he was satisfied, Sasuke mustered all of his remaining strength and, with a cry of strain and fury, sent it back against the flow that Itachi dictated for it, driving it with his mind back where it came from.

A great and angry pulse in the burning power surrounding him told him that he had succeeded. Itachi was hurt, and hurt badly. He would live, of course, but he would be sitting out the rest of this war. Naruto would have time to recover and, if luck was on his side, gain control of the situation. Perhaps they would actually manage to destroy Akatsuki in the end...

But that was a tale that, Sasuke knew, he would not live to hear of. Itachi was going to see to his death before he retreated. He would have to leave his quest for vengeance in the hands of the Jinchuuriki, the friend he had only just recovered.

He smiled. Somehow, he felt that this was what was right.

"I had it, you got it," he said. "I know you'll win... Naruto..."

The light surged around him, more brilliant than ever. In another moment, Uchiha Sasuke was wiped off the face of the earth, to live on only in the memories of those he left behind.

OoOoOoOo ... oOoOoOoO


	28. Epilogue: Heroes Survive

**Epilogue: Heroes Survive**

Yes, yes, I know what you're going to ask... how the hell should I know if Uchiha Sasuke lived or died, or what he was thinking in the moments before and after his death? I concede that I don't know for certain. I was not following him when he exited the base through the tunnel, and I can't read minds, so I could not possibly know beyond a doubt what was going on in his head when he appeared before us in that hour of our desperation.

So why did I write him off for a dead man, you ask? I'll try to justify myself as best as I can. When he came to us on the edge of the pit, and explained his plan, there were certain signs that he gave off that gave away certain little things. I may be blind, but I'm not as stupid as Haruka is inclined to claim. I can read emotions in people's voices as well as in the feel of their auras. Even without the Ghostly Arms, it was plain as day to me that Uchiha Sasuke was feeling the heavy weight of his wrongs, and he meant to atone for them, even at the cost of his life—which is almost certainly the case, given what he was up against. No body was found, of course, but then a man who is vaporized isn't likely to have any discernible remains, is he?

Investigators are still out there looking for him. In the extremely unlikely event that he is alive, they will not find him. In my opinion, he would have left this land, settled down somewhere far away, and lived out his life in peace and solitude. Outcast from all shinobi society and without anyone else to give him a base of operations—and with the crippling injury he might have and probably would have sustained—running around on a futile quest to penetrate Akatsuki and kill his older brother would not have been a life living. Having given back what little he could to his friends, he ought to have abandoned this life and begun a new one in a place where he could exist freely without troubling anyone.

_If_ he is still alive, and if he is a sensible man.

You must understand that I cannot give this story anything other than a fictional closure. I have speculated over and over numerous other possibilities, as have the others who witnessed his actions. We all agreed that this was the outcome that seemed the most likely, and the one that did Sasuke the most honor. Plus, if he were to have survived, declaring him dead may help get the shinobi hunter teams off his trail sooner. If you hunters happen to be reading this, I beseech you to give up now. You'll run a wild goose chase and, should by some miracle you find him, may just lose your head.

The rest of the war is all history, stuff that you would have read in the local papers, if you were paying attention. Konoha and Suna forces, using the mountain villages as their base of operations, proceeded to the Hidden Rock Village and, along with their allied force from the south, easily crushed it. The surrender document was signed hastily, and the Earth Country was left—under heavy watch and a reparations tax—to rebuild its wasted lands. Shortly thereafter, both the Water Country and the Lightning Country requested a cease-fire with the Southern Eye's forces, to which Konoha and Suna both agreed. For now, a tenuous peace exists between all the countries, hopefully one that will last.

If you want my opinion, though, the Lightning Country is just waiting for another chance at Konoha. They may just convince the Mist Ninja to join them, a much better gamble than fighting on their own and relying on the other forces to exhaust themselves against each other; the neighboring countries are now well aware of that underhanded tactic, anyway.

Akatsuki's weapon was never used in the war. We know it requires a Sharingan user, the Bijuu, and the weapon mechanism itself to operate and, since we did not attack the mechanism and actually caused them to _gain_ a Bijuu, we can only assume that Sasuke hurt or killed his brother. The odds drastically favor him hurting rather than killing Itachi, however, again considering his opposition, and neither Jiraiya nor his agents have uncovered any evidence that any Akatsuki members have died recently. As their strongest member, the evil organization certainly would have broken into a sweat and leaked something about his death. Again, investigations are being made into this matter, but solid information is not liable to come up for some time.

The group returned home to a large welcoming party, heralded as the heroes of the battle for the mountain pass. All of us were given special honors in a public ceremony by the Fifth Hokage, alongside Nara Shikamaru, whose genius tactics not only held the advance of the Water Country's forces, but drove them all the way back across the border before the cease-fire was signed. The Fifth told me in a private conversation that the people of the village were in need of new heroes to idolize, for morale had been lowered considerably since the Sound's recent attack and had only slightly started to rise since the war turned in a positive direction. With a bright and promising future, Naruto was a truly iconic choice for such a hero.

Ibara Ayaka politely refused to stay in the village, declaring her intention to return home to her clan and try to convince the Cloud's leaders that further war was not worth fighting. Shino, Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura saw her off, promising to keep in contact with her in case she needed their testimony or, in a worst-case scenario, their help in breaking out of prison.

Shino returned to his family, helping to rebuild the hive cluster that had been damaged at the start of the war. He returned to missions soon after, and commonly works alongside Kiba and Akamaru, who are highly compatible with him. Tsunade decided to make him the main liaison with Ayaka and her clan, a fact which Naruto relentlessly teases him about since he's learned of the previous agreement between the Ibara and the Aburame. Shino insists that he maintains no romantic interest, though quite often he is gone longer than seems required on missions to the north, and Kiba smiles quite smugly when the matter comes up.

Kiba himself has earned a glorious reputation as a hero and a protector of innocents the world over. Those people that he played such a huge part in rescuing came from all the corners of the Shinobi lands, and the word has spread like wildfire. As such, he always is treated well by civilians wherever he goes, and comes back from successful missions looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

Sakura has been continuing her study under lady Tsunade and has apparently adjusted to Uchiha Sasuke's death quite well. I've heard tell that she's even seeing someone now, though I can't confirm who it is. I suspect Haruka may know, but if she does then she isn't going to tell me.

Neji, Hinata, Haruka, and myself all returned to the Hyuuga family home to glorious welcome and hero-worship. We came in through the doors to find Hyuuga Hiashi waiting for us with open arms, and behind him the whole of the Clan, Main and Branch all mixed and mingled and unified in one body. They were equals, now, and Hiashi, in his reassertion of power, was not about to let that fade away. Even I was given a room and a bed and good treatment for my part in the Clan's restoration to glory, as well as a severe apology for the way I had been treated earlier.

As for the shining star of our group, the fantastic Uzumaki Naruto, my adopted little brother returned to his humble apartment and his ramen, albeit with a great deal more respect afforded to him. Young women talked about him behind their hands and grew shy and deferent when he passed them in the streets. Men saluted him in their various fashions, paying honor and respect to their heroic comrade.

The Hyuuga share this reverence. Naruto visits the house often, much to everyone's pleasure—especially Hinata's. The two of them are officially dating now, under Hiashi and Neji's close supervision. I know they can't watch everything, though, and Haruka routinely helps them give their observers the slip. Naruto's having the time of his life now, and nothing's going to get in his way if we have anything to say about it.

Finally, to report on myself, Uzumaki Keisuke. I am pleased to announce that in mere minutes, perhaps at the exact moment that I finish typing this, my prescribed bed rest time will have expired, Haruka will finally let me stand up, and I will return to service for the village that I gratefully call my new home. There will never be another Grave, as long as I am on watch, nor while there are good shinobi like Naruto and Hinata, the valiant Kiba and the stoic Shino, the courageous Haruno Sakura and the cunning Ibara Ayaka, and the masterful Hyuuga clan. Hell, I'll even praise the Sadist, in spite of all she does to torment me.

And, of course, one must not forget the self-sacrificing souls, the poor individuals lost between light and dark, who redeem themselves for the sake of their friends. Though they may die, their last brave actions honor us all. If they happen to live, may they live in peace for their sacrifice.

The clock strikes six in the morning, and my sick-in-quarters status is officially over. I remove the blindfold that protects my sensitive new pupils and look out into the glory of the rising sun, murmuring blessings for the Godaime and her medical genius. A new day has begun, and I walk gladly out into it, smiling with the contentedness of a man reborn into a shining future.

OoOoOoOo **The End. **OooOoOoO

A/N: It's over! But don't think this is the last you'll see of the Eyes crew; remain vigilant for the continuation of the series in Inuzuka Kiba Gaiden: Valiant Wolf and the third epic story in the series: Vision for the Future. I'll see you all there!


End file.
